More people are seeking help for depression, anxiety and other mental health concerns thanks to increased community knowledge about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, according to state and federal leaders.
Monica Johnson, 988 director for U.S. Health and Human Services, and Kody Kinsley, North Carolina Secretary of Health, toured the 988 Call Center, part of Greenville’s REAL Crisis Center, as part of a review of the state’s efforts to improve the mental health of its citizens.
“Behavioral health is essential to health,” Kinsley said. “So many folks in our communities and our families are struggling with feelings of fear leading to anxiety or loneliness leading to depression and they have one simple problem — they don’t know where to start.”
Since 988 launched in 2022, crisis counselors and peer support specialists have connected people to services, he said.
“(It) gives them the tool to that road to healing and recovery. That road starts here in Greenville, North Carolina, for North Carolina,” Kinsley said.
In the last 12 months nearly 115,000 North Carolina callers have connected with 988, according to data shared by the N.C. Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Division of NCDHHS.
Forty percent are repeat callers, which lead to the creation of the Peer Warmline, a statewide phone line that provides non-clinical support and resources to people in crisis. The line is staffed by individuals who are in recovery from mental illness or a substance use disorder.
The warmline can be reached by calling 1-855-PEERS NC.
Johnson said 988 is a catalyst for change in behavioral health care. “We are transforming the way people respond and how we respond as a system to individuals experiencing any type of behavioral health crisis across the country,” she said.
The REAL Crisis Center employs 35 crisis counselors who communicate over the telephone, via text or chat access. Johnson described the crisis counselors as heroes who are helping people with a need for behavioral health services.
“The work here is phenomenal. We could not be more pleased with this federal and state partnership,” Johnson said.
Kinsley and Johnson spoke with Rafael Pelegrin, REAL Crisis Center organizational development coordinator and crisis counselor, about the calls he answers.
“Each individual call is different. It’s more about a crisis event they are going through. It could be financial stress, grief, depression suicidal thoughts, it depends on whatever they are going through,” Pelegrin said. “It’s our job to assess that and give them the best resources we can direct them towards.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic occurred there has been much focus on the need for increased mental health care providers nationwide.
Tracy Kennedy, director of the North Carolina 988 Call Center in Greenville, said there are actually a lot of services available for people in crisis.
“But one of the biggest barriers is people didn’t know how to get to them,” Kennedy said. “So a lot of what we are doing is getting them to those services.
“Yes, a lot of services are overwhelmed but we are working weekly on how we can mainstream getting people into services that meet their needs individually and to tailor those,” she said. “We’re excited to be able to not just give them a number but transfer them into so many services, even at 3 o’clock in the morning.”
During its 2023 long session, the General Assembly gave NCDHHS $835 million to invest in behavioral health,” Kinsley said.
“We’ve hit the ground running. Just weeks later we increased Medicaid rates for behavioral health services by over a $200 million investment for the first time in a decade,” he said. In some situations the reimbursement rate more than doubled for providers.
Kinsley said his department also is working to integrate services to help primary care providers perform behavioral health screenings in their offices.
It will take time, he said, but transformation is underway and North Carolina is leading the way.
Since the 988 hotline launched two years ago, 10 million contacts have been made nationwide, Johnson said.
“That’s a lot of people. It means we still have more work to do as well. We want more people to know that 988 exists, we want more people to receive the right support when they need it. We want to be accessible to everyone,” Johnson said.
Most Popular
Comments / 0