We reported a week ago (July 11th) the pending closure of the Crisis Connection hotline that would be occurring July 14th (original article can be found here). This line is a branch of the National Suicide Prevention Hotline that allows people to talk to mental health professionals free of charge. This line also helps callers plan out long term care, and directs them to the correct resources based on their assessment from their call.
On July 13th, a press release from the Minnesota Department of Health discussed last minute measures that saved the line from closure. In a clutch play, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) was able to fund the line in order and keep it open.
Celebration?
Not so fast.
MDH took $139,000 in funding from the federal government and committed that money to keeping the line open. This funding was previously rewarded from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Coupled with this funding, the MDH had salary savings in the MDH Suicide Prevention unit. This funding should be able to keep the hotline open at the very least until September 29th, hopefully longer. But the future is not guaranteed; a few months is but a few months.
Minnesota Health Commissioner Dr. Ed Ehlinger had this to say about the importance of the hotline: “With Minnesota facing historically high suicide rates and an opioid addiction epidemic, we were concerned about losing this life-saving resource that serves tens of thousands of Minnesotans every year. This is not a permanent fix, but it will keep the suicide prevention line open for people in crisis and provide time to find a lasting solution.”
The suicide rate in Minnesota has been climbing steadily since 2012. The current suicide rate among Minnesotans is 12.6 per deaths per 100,000 in population. This is up from 11 deaths per 100,000 in population in 2012.
According to data from 2014, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death nationally; over 42,700 deaths were related to suicide. It is the second leading cause of death for children between the ages of 10 and 14, and the fifth leading cause of death for adults aged 45 to 55 years. But perhaps the scariest number of all is that for each successful suicide there are roughly 25 attempts.
This can be an indication of how heavily poor mental health can impact our nations’ population as a whole (Health Rankings).
But there’s hope: MDH is in conversations with other state and federal agencies, as well as nonprofit partners and other stakeholders about a long-term plan for ensuring an effective, user-friendly and sustainable network of crisis lines. It is important that this line remain open, as if it doesn’t callers will be routed to other states call centers resulting in longer wait times and limited access to Minnesota resources when time is most important.
Canvas Health will continue to run the Crisis Connection Hotline. Those who are in a crisis can also call 1-800-273-8255, which is the Minnesota National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
