# Crisis Support — Connection Creates Time

> If this card matters because a Veteran may be in immediate danger or thinking about suicide, stop the reading and connect to qualified help now. Call **988 and press 1**, text **838255**, or use the official chat at <https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/>. If there is immediate danger, call **911** or go to the nearest emergency department.

**Semantic kernel:** During a suicidal crisis, immediate connection, safety planning, and greater time or distance from lethal means can open space for care; the card is a doorway, never the responder.

## Grounded anchor

VA's latest annual report available in this release is the 2025 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, released in 2026 with data through 2023. It recorded 6,398 Veteran suicide deaths in 2023 and emphasizes hope, purpose, community, and comprehensive support systems. Population data cannot determine an individual's risk.

## Moving toward

Immediate human connection, hope, time, safety planning, support networks, a qualified responder, and greater distance from lethal means during periods of increased risk.

## Moving away

Isolation, delay, shame, compelled disclosure, method detail, unattended risk, or a card, statistic, peer group, or automated system substituting for crisis support.

## Sense → Choose → Act → Learn

- **Sense:** Recognize that urgent support may be needed without assigning an automated personal score or demanding a story.
- **Choose:** Offer safe current channels: 988 then Press 1, text 838255, official chat, 911, an emergency department, or a trusted qualified support path appropriate to the moment.
- **Act:** Make the human handoff now. Stay within the authority and safety guidance of the qualified responder or emergency service.
- **Learn:** Later, review whether the pathway was accessible and continuous. Do not put private crisis details into the shared System.

## For family, peers, and facilitators

Take concerns seriously, listen without trying to win an argument, and use qualified support. The card does not certify safety, and the absence of visible warning signs does not prove safety.

## Sources

- VA Veteran Suicide Prevention: <https://www.va.gov/health-care/health-needs-conditions/mental-health/suicide-prevention/>
- 2025 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report: <https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/docs/data-sheets/2025/2025_Annual_Report_Part_2_508.pdf>
