Be Well Indiana Crisis Helpline: Dial 211, select your language and enter ZIP code, then follow prompts.
Submitted photo
O’Neal
Odell
As Jackson County faces the latest surge of COVID-19 cases, along with winter weather that can often lead individuals to feel depressed or isolated, some community members may be struggling to maintain their mental health and well-being.
There is help available, and Hoosiers can access free mental health counseling and resources through Be Well Indiana and the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.
The Be Well Crisis Helpline provides free, confidential support to Hoosiers of any age experiencing emotional distress or in need of crisis stabilization.
Indiana residents can speak with trained crisis specialists 24/7 by dialing 211 or the toll-free number 866-211-9966 and then following the prompts.
David Berman, vice president of Mental Health America of Indiana, serves as the program director of the helpline through MHAI and helped create the helpline in June 2020.
“Since the helpline’s inception, trained crisis specialists have answered nearly 31,000 calls and invested more than 6,900 hours helping Hoosiers manage their mental health,” Berman said. “In addition, the specialists have provided more than 55% of callers with referrals for additional mental health or substance use services.”
He said the diverse team of crisis specialists represent a variety of unique backgrounds and experience, including mental health care, social service provision, domestic violence and/or crisis care, and work remotely from locations throughout the state.
“Through conversations with the helpline team, callers can also receive referrals for additional emotional crisis support or other mental health and substance use services as needed,” Berman said.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has allowed the helpline to operate since July 2020 and plans to keep it going through at least March 2023.
The helpline is funded by a Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“As Hoosiers navigate the stressors brought on by everyday life, as well as continue to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a continual growing need for mental health resources such as the helpline,” Berman said.
Hoosiers of all ages can contact the helpline for support in managing their mental health. Callers typically range in age from young teenagers to senior adults, and the line typically receives approximately 100 calls per day with an average length of call of 15 minutes.
“While the Be Well Crisis Helpline team members receive numerous critical calls from Hoosiers where there is the potential of eminent threat of life and trained crisis specialists provide support to these individuals, the majority of callers are everyday Hoosiers in emotional distress or experiencing a less acute crisis,” Berman said.
He said these types of calls range from individuals feeling anxious or overwhelmed or who are having a bad day and just need to talk to people who come home from work tired and stressed about potential layoffs to parents struggling to balance working from home and helping their school-age children with eLearning and everything in between.
Services offered through the helpline include emotional support, helping navigate crisis situations, psychosocial education and the provision of resources.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five adults in the United States experience mental illness each year, and more than half of them did not receive any treatment last year.
Of the 345,000 Hoosiers who did not receive mental health care last year, 37.4% did not seek help due to cost.
Hoosiers are two times more likely to be forced out of network for mental health care than for primary health care, making it more difficult to find and less affordable, due to higher out-of-pocket costs.
According to nami.org, 4,426,818 people in Indiana live in a community that does not have enough mental health professionals.
Melanie O’Neal, executive director of Mental Health America of Jackson County, said there are other mental health resources available in Jackson County and online mental health screenings, which are available at mentalhealthamericajc.net.
Seymour native Kaylee Odell, who is a master’s-level adult outpatient therapist at Meridian Health Services in Muncie, said the helpline is quite timely because of the incredibly high need for mental health support right now.
“We have been seeing a huge influx of individuals seeking mental health treatment over the past couple of years,” Odell said. “Unfortunately, a majority of communities cannot keep up with the amount of need. This makes resources like the helpline quite helpful and necessary.”
She said the helpline is a good thing and could bring people reassurance and hope for the future.