SOCIAL MEDIA: FOLLOW STATEHOUSE REPORTER LAURA BISCHOFF ON TWITTER
“Ohio is the first one to really go for it,” Lublin said. In September, the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services put up $160,000 to market the service.
People in crisis can text “4HOPE” to 741741 to be immediately connected with a trained, volunteer crisis counselor.
Data show that 79 percent of Ohioans using the crisis text service are under age 25 and 10 percent are under age 13; 85 percent are white; 47 percent are heterosexual; 61 percent say they’re sharing something they’ve never told anyone else. Counselors say issues that come up are likely to include: depression, stress, anxiety, thoughts of suicide, bullying, physical abuse and more.
The text service is confidential and free. Lublin said mobile carriers agreed to remove evidence that the service has been used from bills.
“Our job is to take someone from a hot moment to a cool moment,” Lublin said. But if the texter is suicidal, counselors will call 911.
Tracy Plouck, director of the state mental health department, said the texting line supplements rather than replaces traditional suicide prevention hotlines.
The national suicide prevention hotline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
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