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988 national mental health number goes into effect July 16

Joplin Globe - 6/17/2022

Jun. 17—The national emergency number 911 is easy to remember for Americans seeking aid immediately. On July 16, a second three-digit number — 988 — will become the go-to number for Americans seeking mental health help.

Freeman Health System's Ozark Center will become one of 200 crisis centers nationwide accepting those calls beginning in mid-July, said Debbie Fitzgerald, the director of crisis services.

"We're encouraging people to call 988 if you're having an emotional or mental health crisis," she said. "If you're having stress, depression, insomnia, thoughts of self-harm, substance abuse, a parenting problem, homelessness, home insecurity or (need) help with utilities — it really is a one-stop (number) to get help 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

People can call the number anytime, anywhere, and they will be routed to their nearest network center, where "a trained crisis specialist who has had extensive training in how to provide supportive counseling, how to access the risk of self-harm ... can provide help," Fitzgerald said.

Ozark Center will receive calls from people living in the 417 area code, Fitzgerald said, and it has a working goal of answering an individual phone call within 20 seconds or less.

"Suicide is the most preventable leading cause of death (in the nation), and so we're hoping (988) will be one easy access entry point, and it will encourage people to call and we'll be able to give those resources and help ... right then and there," she said.

Those who call, chat with or text 988 can expect to be connected to a crisis specialist who is trained and prepared to deliver support to anyone experiencing a crisis, according to the Missouri Department of Mental Health. The crisis specialist will engage with the person to understand and address the person's concerns and needs. The intervention may include assessment, stabilization, referral and followup for individuals at high risk for suicide and/or poor mental health outcomes. If a higher level of care is needed, the crisis specialist will work with the caller to connect them to a mobile crisis response team.

There's hope among crisis specialists and health care providers that 988 will eventually replace the impulse by many Americans to call 911 when suffering from a mental health crisis. The new three-digit number won't replace the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which is 800-273-8255.

"What we're doing is just adding on another line" to better help more people who are in need of help, Fitzgerald said. "People should never be afraid to call day or night and ask for help."

Between July 2021 and December 2022, Ozark Center received two 988 grants for $381,955; officials there are currently using that funding to hire and train seven people, Fitzgerald said. Previously, the center had one or two people answering phones during the day and one person at night, but beginning July 16 it will have three on duty during the day and three at night.

"We're expecting the call volume to go up by a lot," said Hailee Bradshaw, the crisis service supervisor, "and it will be interesting to see by how much it increases and what that's going to look like."

In October 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law the measure designating 988 as the universal number for the nationwide hotline.

"It's my hope that people will no longer see mental health as shameful or stigmatized," Fitzgerald said, "because I say the brain is the most important organ in the body, and it can get dysfunctions just like the heart or kidneys, so it's my hope that when we have annual physicals, your doctor will start talking to you about a depression screen or one for anxiety. What I would like the community to know is that we do listen and we do care and we do want to help, and there's hope here."

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