Setting the bar for more services for Hoosiers
Greensburg Daily NewsJan 15, 2021
Jan. 15—INDIANAPOLIS — In response to COVID-19,
The 24/7 hotline, launched in
According to the
A crisis counselor at Be Well Indiana,
"I honestly believe that this is an amazing step forward, especially during a pandemic when people aren't able to get into their mental health providers as they normally have been," Laws said.
Even though there are other services to help, Be Well Indiana focuses on COVID-19 pandemic issues. But the service, funded by the Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program grant, is a short-term program. It will be funded only until
Laws gets an average of three to five calls during her shift.
"It's always challenging but rewarding," Laws said. "I feel blessed that I'm in a position that I can be that voice on the other end of the line when somebody is at that point where they're reaching out for help."
According to an article by the
"I definitely think we have improvements to make in how we manage people with mental illness," Barnum said. "We are way underfunded, and of course everybody has staffing problems as well."
However, Barnum says
"We're about to lose another one in a couple of months," Berman said. "And it's going to put a stranglehold on the ability of us to respond. So we're already operating under a weakened infrastructure of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline."
The federally funded National Suicide Prevention Lifeline was created by the
The
According to Indiana State Mental Health Disaster Program director
The staff are trained licensed counselors and social workers or have years of experience in other health professions. They are trained to understand the reactions of the callers and assess the situation to then direct them to the necessary resources.
"[We] help people tap into their natural strengths and resilience or perhaps develop new coping skills," Linville said.
Laws says that the goal is to de-escalate the situations when she gets a distressed call. When the calls get out of her control or she doesn't know how to proceed, her team, although remote, reaches out to help. The online service connects all the counselors so they can support each other when needed. If things cannot be handled, 9-1-1 is called for assistance.
"[Maybe] they're just in that moment where, you know, it is midnight and they can't talk to their therapist, and they really just need somebody to say, 'Hey, I'm here, and I've got you right now, let's talk out what's going on,'" Laws said.
Linville encourages those who've thought about making a call to do so. The services are open for anyone about any topic.
"There's really nothing to lose, it's free, it's confidential, and we would much rather support people who are just having a bit of struggles and help them get over that hump than not reach out and then turning into a whole crisis," Linville said.
The legislative session of 2020 added the Be Well helpline to the
"We see the value in the Be Well Crisis Helpline and will explore options on how to continue the service past its current expiration date," deputy director of communications
To seek help from Be Well Indiana, call 2-1-1, enter your ZIP code and follow the subsequent directions. For those who prefer texting, they may text Home to 741741 to be connected with someone.
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