Our crisis protocol
If you might hurt yourself or someone else, call or text 988, or call 911. We are not a crisis line, and we say so.
Right now
In crisis or thinking about suicide? Call or text 988, free and confidential, 24/7. Emergency: 911. Treatment referrals: SAMHSA National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357 (free, confidential, 24/7).
For an overdose, call 911 and use naloxone if you have it.
What happens on our side
This is a summary of the written protocol our coaches follow.
- The fixed words
- Wherever you contact us, you see the same words about 988 and 911. A person wrote them once. No AI writes, shortens or rewords them.
- Our hours
- Coaches work Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm Pacific. Outside those hours nobody is watching messages, and we never imply otherwise.
- A message that sounds like danger
- A coach reads every new message at the start of each working day, and any that sounds like danger is handled first. We send no automatic reply of any kind, because a message you didn’t expect can be seen by someone you didn’t expect.
- A coach and you are talking
- The coach stays on the line and asks where you are. If it is an overdose, a seizure or confusion, 911 is called straight away. If you are thinking of suicide but are not in immediate danger, the coach stays with you while you connect to 988. If you are in immediate danger and can’t or won’t call, including if you are about to hurt yourself, or if someone else is in danger, the coach calls 911 for you. They tell you first and tell you why, and share only the minimum: your first name, the number you’re on, where you are and what’s happening. Our privacy page says when we may share without permission.
- If you asked us not to call or text
- We keep to that. The one exception is an emergency where your life is in danger: only a supervisor can decide to go against it, and they write down why.
- Afterward
- The coach tells their supervisor the same day, writes a short private note, checks in with you within 24 hours the way you prefer, and the team debriefs within 48 hours.
- No danger right now, but worrying signs
- The coach helps you get a same-week appointment with a mental health provider and writes a safety plan with you, in your words. You can say no.
AI and crisis
AI never writes anything for a person in danger, and never decides how serious something is. A person reads and decides. More on how we use AI.
Questions about this protocol: hello@stillstandingrecovery.org.Last updated 17 October 2026.