NAMI Mississippi celebrates availability of 988, a three-digit crisis hotline – The Oxford Eagle

After greater than two years of advocacy and planning, NAMI Mississippi joins psychological well being advocates throughout Mississippi and your entire nation to have fun the nationwide availability of 988 – the brand new three-digit quantity for individuals to name or textual content throughout a psychological well being, substance use or suicide disaster – beginning at this time, Saturday, July 16.

“The provision of 988 at this time is an incredible step towards offering life-saving assist that can assist numerous individuals experiencing a psychological well being, substance use or suicide disaster, and their households,” stated Sitaniel Wimbley, Government Director of NAMI Mississippi. “However the work is barely starting. 988 offers us a possibility to reimagine how our state responds to individuals in disaster. Mississippi should act now to proceed to put money into 988 and a disaster response system and guarantee everybody experiencing a psychological well being disaster receives the psychological well being response they deserve.”

With 988 now out there nationwide, anybody can name or textual content 988 (or use on-line chat providers at 988lifeline.org) and be linked to educated disaster counselors which might be a part of the 988 Suicide and Disaster Lifeline community. These disaster counselors are educated to assist anybody experiencing a psychological well being disaster or emotional misery, and they’re able to resolve greater than 90 p.c of calls over the cellphone.

NAMI has extra info out there right here about what’s and isn’t altering with at this time’s nationwide availability of 988.

Whereas the brand new quantity is now dwell, efforts to construct the system’s capability in Mississippi to assist everybody in disaster will proceed within the weeks, months and years to come back.

Whereas everybody will now have entry to the Lifeline through 988, this doesn’t imply that cellular disaster groups and disaster stabilization choices that present efficient care to individuals in disaster can be found for everybody who contacts 988. Proper now, what is obtainable differs group by group.

Learn NAMI FAQs for Nationwide Availability of 988

North Mississippi’s NAMI department is positioned in Oxford. The NAMI Oxford Affiliate covers Calhoun, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Tate, Yalobusha, Benton, Chickasaw, Itawamba, Lee, Monroe, Pontotoc and Union counties. For extra info or questions, contact NAMI Oxford at oxford@namims.org.