How a mental health hotline helped Daytonians weather pandemic
Springfield News-SunMay 17, 2021
May 17—Thousands of Ohioans at home, in school and on the front lines called in over the last year to a new hotline that was created as a mental health resource during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CareLine at 1-800-720-9616 fielded 6,579 calls from its inception
The threat of illness, isolation, job loss and more that came with the pandemic led to an increase in need for mental health services. And the state might operate the hotline even after the pandemic wanes.
"People around the state have really utilized the line for exactly the reason why it was created and that was just to give someone an additional option to be able to reach out to someone for help," said
"And so with this number, we've been able to really address that by just creating a single spot for people to go that's highly visible, making it okay to not be okay and okay and to ask for help," Criss said.
Calls pour in
Health care workers called. Distressed students called. People in economic crisis called.
Dispatchers noticed that a lot of people were just calling to talk to someone and be listened to.
"A lot of it has just been that that warm feeling, if you will, of just being being there for someone and listening to their story and empathizing with them. And more often than not, that's gotten the caller what they needed," said
Many callers were on the front lines of COVID response in some form.
"We fielded so many calls from other professionals who have continued to stay employed ... hospitals, emergency personnel, fire, police and from professionals in that line of work who are calling our line just to vent at the end of their day, because of what they've experienced through the pandemic.
In an analysis of data, about half were provided information and resources. Around a third received a brief intervention. Around 10% were referred to a behavioral health agency, and 7.5% were referred elsewhere.
About 6 in 10 callers didn't give their race or ethnicity, 4 in 10 didn't give their age, and a little over 1 in 10 didn't give their gender, so the caller demographics aren't clear.
"I got her to the hospital, and which is a very rare thing to happen, and even more rare for me to be the recipient of both calls, but she called the next day to thank me," Krodel said.
The national increase in mental health problems has been documented in multiple studies and surveys.
A KFF Health Tracking Poll from
The COVID CareLine began
"So it was a heavy lift, but we brought it up fairly quickly," Criss said.
___
(c)2021 Springfield News-Sun, Ohio
Visit Springfield News-Sun, Ohio at www.springfieldnewssun.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.