Posted on: Tuesday, October 1, 2002

Suicide hotline changes hands

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer

The state Department of Health is shifting its financial support from the telephone hotline at the Suicide and Crisis Center to create its own mental health access line.

Helping Hands Hawai'i has run the hotline program for 20 years, fielding 15,000 calls each year from people struggling with crises related to addiction, mental problems and suicidal tendencies. Program manager Jane Maxwell, who oversees the suicide hotline said the state has arranged for her organization to assist with the transition from the number 521-4555 to the new access line.

Deputy Health Director Anita Swanson said the state Health Department began shifting people to the new access line at 832-3100 on Sept. 5. The line will be run by its DOH staffers with advanced degrees in social work.

Swanson said the concept is to give people "one point of access, one place to call" so that people will be referred to an appointment with mental health staff in their community, to help arrange for housing or whatever is necessary.

Since Sept. 5, Swanson said about 1,500 people have called the new access line. To help ease the transition, Helping Hands will remain on contract with the state through December.

Swanson said the change reflects a shift in philosophy and not a cutback. "There's no reduction in funding and services are being broadened."

Maxwell said that Helping Hands had been trying to work out a contract to continue to provide youth intervention services for the state, but the two sides could not agree on a price, so those youth calls are shifted as of last night to the new state access line. "It's just a very chaotic sort of transfer of services," she said.

Swanson said the requests for crisis intervention for children and teens amount to about 100 calls a month, with 60 percent to 70 percent of them coming from the schools.

Swanson said the state will make adjustments as needed. "It's not going to make any difference for the children," he said, and the adult services should be improved.

"We're monitoring on a daily basis and modifying as necessary," Swanson said.

Greg Farstrup executive director Mental Health Association of Hawai'i, said the policy change sounds like a good idea. "Everything we've heard is that they are being more responsive," Farstrup said, and that the transition so far is fairly smooth.

He said it seemed like a good sign when the state saw that some people ended up being put on hold or forced to call back, that staff members were added to address the problem.

Maxwell said Helping Hands plans to work to raise private donations to continue its service. "We're determined to maintain a place in the community where people can call even if they just want empathy," she said.