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RFK Jr. taps eight new members for CDC's vaccine advisory panel; CO communities to join national 'No Kings' protests Saturday; End of hospital emergency abortion care rule will affect rural KY women; LIHEAP cuts could put lives at risk in rural AL, advocates warn.

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White House says there will be more ICE raids, as protests spread across the county. California Gov. Newsom says democracy is at a crossroads, and Elon Musk says he 'regrets' social media posts about President Trump.

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EV charging stations are harder to find in rural America, improving the mental health of children and teachers is the goal of a new partnership in seven rural states, and a once segregated Mississippi movie theater is born again.

Mental health hotline helps thousands in New Mexico

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Wednesday, July 3, 2024   

Residents of Western states, including New Mexico, are at a high risk of suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but many are taking advantage of an easy to remember phone number to receive mental health support.

In 2022, the U.S. launched 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Nick Boukas, director of the New Mexico Behavioral Health Services Division, said more people are calling the hotline when they, or someone they know, has a personal crisis.

"They can call for their child, they can call for a loved one or a friend," Boukas explained. "They're talking to a trained counselor and that counselor can hopefully talk them through what's going on or refer them to resources."

A new report from the mental health advocacy nonprofit Inseparable, called on states to improve their crisis response systems. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988.

In its first year, Boukas pointed out the 988 crisis line took nearly 40,000 calls from New Mexicans and saved almost 5,000 lives. He added people often get help within 15 minutes of calling.

"In New Mexico, people can call and there's a prompt if they are a veteran and it puts them through to a veteran crisis line," Boukas explained. "There's also a prompt for them to connect to a Spanish-speaking counselor and then we have specialized LGBTQIA counselors as well."

The Inseparable group hopes its report will spark conversations among legislators and inspire folks who care about mental health issues to step forward.

Angela Kimball, chief advocacy officer for the group, said in terms of payment, response to mental health emergencies should look like the response to other emergencies.

"Police come. They don't ask whether or not there's an insurance card or a payer first," Kimball emphasized. "The same is true for mental health, substance use and suicidal crises. We want there to be a response regardless."

Boukas added to date, 47% of New Mexico callers have identified as male, 46% as female, 23% as Hispanic or Latino and 9% as Native or Indigenous.

Disclosure: Inseparable contributes to our fund for reporting on Criminal Justice, Health Issues, Mental Health, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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