James Donaldson on Mental Health - Here’s what you can do if a loved one is having a mental health crisis

People know 988 as the new suicide hotline, but callers can get mental health or substance use support as well.

by Stephanie Casanova

Cuyahoga County has many options for mental health support services. If a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis, people can call 988 or 911, depending on the severity of the situation. People can also text 988 or chat online with a mental health professional. 

If the person experiencing a crisis has a weapon, 911 is the better choice. 

Getting someone mental health help early can prevent more serious symptoms. 

Here’s what happens when you call 988 

The FrontLine 24-hour crisis line (216-623-6888) and the 988 hotline are managed by FrontLine Service, a community behavioral health center serving Cuyahoga County. 

When someone calls 988 or the crisis line, FrontLine has licensed counselors, social workers and other mental health professionals available to help talk to people in crisis. 

While many people know 988 as the new suicide hotline, people can call when they need any kind of mental health or substance use support, not just when they’re dealing with suicidal thoughts or ideation. 

People can call FrontLine if they’re struggling with anxiety, psychosis, substance use, depression, relationship issues, or suicidal thoughts. They can also call if they need referrals and information about services and resources in the area. 

When someone calls the hotline, a mental health professional listens to the person in crisis or their loved one. They recommend services or resources to help the person reduce or resolve their crisis. 

After the initial phone call, the FrontLine worker might move the case to their mobile crisis team. The caller may be offered a face-to-face meeting and given crisis psychiatric services.  

The center also has a Child Response Team that works with children at home, in schools, in emergency rooms and in other community settings. 

FrontLine Service requires the person in crisis to agree to use their services. No one can be forced to go through treatment. 

Calling 911 for a mental health emergency

As 911 calls for mental health emergencies continue to increase, dispatch centers are adding training and mental health professionals to help answer those calls. 

In both Cuyahoga County and Cleveland, social workers are joining traditional first responders such as police, firefighters and paramedics to respond to mental health crisis calls. In Cuyahoga County, a program that started in Shaker Heights in 2022 recently expanded crisis response teams to five eastern suburbs. 

Cleveland started its co-response team pilot program in 2020 with five teams, one for each police district. In November, Cleveland City Council members approved the co-response program’s expansion, allocating $5 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds to double the number of teams to 10. The city recently added a sixth team.  

What is co-response? Co-response is a program where a police officer is teamed up with a mental health expert to respond to or follow up on 911 calls that involve a mental health crisis. 

The city is working to embed mental health clinicians into its 911 call center in the next two years. The clinicians will be available to talk to people in crisis and de-escalate a situation. They can also help dispatchers identify mental health calls.  

The Cleveland Division of Police also has 122 specialized crisis intervention (SCIT) officers as part of their Crisis Intervention Team (CIT). Those officers completed a 40-hour specialized mental health training course, where they learn to de-escalate crises and connect people to mental health resources. 

So, when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, they or a family member or friend can call 911 and ask for an SCIT officer to respond. An SCIT officer can be dispatched to a scene if they are available. 

If there isn’t an SCIT officer available, other officers will go to the call and a SCIT officer or a co-response team might follow up when they become available.

An informal relationship between 988, 911

Cleveland officials are also working to create a process where calls can be transitioned between 988 and 911, Angela Cecys, senior strategist for public safety and health with the Cleveland Department of Public Health, told Signal Cleveland. 

“So we’re just going to shore up and solidify what that process for transferring calls back and forth is going to look like,” Cecys said. 

But FrontLine mental health professionals and 911 call center employees already informally transfer calls back and forth. And they’ve been doing that for decades, Cecys said.

For example, if police get a call for someone requesting help for a person who is suicidal, the 911 call taker can offer to transfer the person to FrontLine so that someone stays on the line with them while police or EMS arrive, Cecys said. 

People also sometimes call 911 to ask for resources if, say, they’re unhoused and looking for help. A call taker at the 911 call center could transfer the person to FrontLine or to 211, the United Way help center that provides people with information about housing, health care, government and other social services. 

The transfers work the other way as well. FrontLine sometimes receives calls about more serious mental health crises. For example, if there’s a gun involved in a situation, FrontLine will transfer those calls to 911 for police response. FrontLine’s mobile crisis would also follow up with the 911 call center to offer follow-up help in those situations, Cecys said. 

Ohio, as well as other states, is also working to connect 988 and 911 systems and coordinate calls between the two lines.

#James Donaldson notes:Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticleFind out more about the work I do on my 501c3 non-profit foundationwebsite www.yourgiftoflife.org Order your copy of James Donaldson's latest book,#CelebratingYourGiftofLife: From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy

www.celebratingyourgiftoflife.com

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