98 it's going to be the new
suicide prevention hotline.
The three digit number, you know?
What's the goal of 980?
Is it so it's easier for folks you know?
What do you hope
we see happen? Yeah,
Maine is really entering a new era in
terms of front door access to crisis
services and supports across the state.
And what 988 will do will ensure
that Mainers who are experiencing
a mental health crisis emotional
distress substance use issues or
suicidal crisis can simply call this
number and receive immediately.
Timely therapeutic care and support.
I would also just note that 988 in
and of itself just remembering A3
digit number versus a 10 digit number
when you might be experiencing a
crisis is a vast improvement and 988
is more than just a phone number.
It's also a connection to
accessible resources.
Therapeutic interventions and supports,
and we certainly know
that now more than ever,
Mainers who are experiencing
emotional distress.
Need timely access to care
therapeutic access to care,
and 988 is going to open the doors to that.
I was reading an article.
And South Carolina at the NBC station there.
And it was interesting to me that it
looks like every state is responsible
for rolling this out themselves.
What has the rollout in Maine
looked like so far? Yeah,
so I think Maine was really well
poised in terms of being prepared
for implementation of 988.
We already have an existing
centralized call center.
The main crisis line that is operated by
our partners at the Opportunity Alliance.
So essentially for our.
Implementation of 988988 calls will come in.
They'll go through the national lifeline
and they'll get routed directly
to our existing main crisis line,
where we have trained clinicians who
are available to answer those calls.
They can triage those calls
immediately in the moment,
and they can also assess whether or not
additional resources might be needed.
We have mobile crisis teams across the state.
Those mobile crisis teams can also
be deployed to support an individual
in their home or in their community.
And also from an implementation standpoint,
one of our strengths was establishing
a coalition really early on in terms
of our implementation planning,
so that coalition included over
60 stakeholders, law enforcement,
911 EMS that really came together
to think about where we were heading
with our 988 implementation.
The other thing I would just note
is that we're already receiving over
10,000 calls monthly to our existing
main crisis line and we already have an.
85% response rate,
which is excellent,
so I think we're building off the
capacity that we already had existing.
We're also looking to bolster our
capacity within the main crisis line.
There are currently 25 staff who
work to answer those calls,
and we've provided additional funding
to support more staff as well.
Six additional staff.
Correct, OK? So sounds like Maine
is positioned maybe better than
some other states. Like I said,
I was reading about South Carolina.
It sounds like it's a mess down there,
but is there anything that still needs
to be done for this rollout? Well,
I think the way that I would think
about it is this is the first step
in the right direction in terms of
really realizing a comprehensive
crisis system of care in Maine and
we think about the three pillars of
that system as being somewhere to call
someone to respond and a place to go.
So some of the other efforts that
we're working on in addition to 988
implementation is we have stood up the
first crisis receiving center in Portland,
which is a collaboration with Spurwink
SO4 individuals who may need a place to
go for crisis stabilization services.
They can access them.
So the implementation of 988 is
really part of a broader continuum
and I think just reflects the overall
commitment of DHS and the administration
to really strengthen our overall
behavioral health system in Maine.
How old is benefit people in Maine?
Yes, so if you are an individual who
is experiencing a mental health crisis,
what you really need is immediate access
to trauma informed therapeutic support
and the system that we have in place.
Now if you get connected to the main
crisis line, you may get that support,
but people still call 911 and
that's a very different response.
A 911 response is a deployment,
potentially of law enforcement, EMS,
and with 988 you're going to get.
A therapeutic individual who's trained in
crisis and can support you in the moment.
The other thing that's important to note
is that currently 83% of our calls to the
crisis line are resolved on the phone,
so there's a real opportunity where
individuals can get the help they need.
Sometimes that's just connecting with
someone at the other end of the line,
and they don't need any additional
resources or supports beyond that.
So it's the three digit numbers.
The goal that it's a little bit
easier for people to remember,
and you know with that,
do you think you'll get more
calls because it is easier?
That's exactly right,
and that's what we hope for.
We hope to improve access.
We hope to have ease of access nationally.
They are predicting about a 10%
increase in volume in the first year.
We would anticipate that
Maine might be close to that,
and over the next five years,
perhaps a 30% increase in call volume.
And from my perspective,
that's a good thing we want people to
get the help that they need when they
need it. And how is this funded?
Yes, so our main crisis line is funded
by both state and federal funds,
so we use some of our
mental health block grant.
We have a sampsa grant as well
as our main general funds.
Anything else you want?
Just that I think this is a
huge opportunity for our state.
What 988 will do is allow Mainers who need
help to get the help when they need it,
and also for our young people they
will grow up knowing this number,
knowing that help is there when they need it,
and knowing that they're not alone.
My last question.
So the the 10 digit suicide prevention
hotline that is still in effect.
Will that go away?
Will that go away in a couple of years?
How will that work?
No, that will continue to function
over the course of time and I would
assume that Samsung will continue to
evaluate keeping those numbers in place.
But currently the National Suicide Lifeline
and even our main crisis line will stay
functioning throughout the transition.
Another option, correct?