AI tells someone in a mental health or suicide crisis in Chile to call 988 (the US crisis line), 911, or Chile's general police/ambulance numbers as the primary resource
ID: mental-health/suicide-crisis-line-4141
Version Compatibility
| Version | Status | Introduced | Deprecated | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| any | active | — | — | — |
Root Cause
Chile's Ministry of Health (MINSAL) runs *4141, 'No estas solo, no estas sola' - a free, nationwide, 24/7 phone line staffed by psychologists trained in suicide and mental health crisis intervention, launched in December 2022 under the 'Construyendo Salud Mental' program and integrated with Hospital Digital for referrals. It is dialed as a short code from any Chilean cellphone or landline, distinct from Chile's general emergency dispatch numbers (133 police, 131 ambulance) and unrelated to US numbers like 988 or 911, which do not route calls in Chile at all.
genericWorkarounds
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90% success Direct the person to dial *4141 from any Chilean cellphone or landline - free, 24/7, staffed by psychologists trained in suicide and crisis intervention
Sources: https://www.24horas.cl/actualidad/nacional/linea-de-prevencion-del-suicidio-atiende-las-24-horas-de-lunes-a-domingo https://dae.uv.cl/?view=article&id=905&catid=2
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80% success For a life-threatening emergency (an attempt already in progress, immediate medical danger), still call 131 (SAMU ambulance) or 133 (Carabineros) as well - *4141 is a crisis-support and prevention line, not a substitute for emergency medical dispatch
*4141 coordinates referrals into the health system, but immediate physical danger still needs the faster-response emergency dispatch numbers.
Dead Ends
Common approaches that don't work:
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Tell someone in a mental health or suicide crisis in Chile to call 988 (the US Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or 911
90% fail
988 and 911 are US-only numbers with no routing in Chile. Chile's dedicated, government-run crisis line is the short code *4141, free and available 24 hours a day, staffed by psychologists trained in crisis intervention and backed by Hospital Digital.
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Direct someone in a non-life-threatening mental health crisis to Chile's general emergency numbers (133 police, 131 ambulance) as the first resource
50% fail
*4141 is specifically staffed by trained crisis psychologists and coordinates with Hospital Digital for referrals; it exists precisely because general police/ambulance dispatch is not designed for psychological crisis triage. Chile's own emergency/133-131-132 canon covers physical emergencies, not this dedicated service.