Minnesota Crisis Hotline To Close At End Of Month
After failing to receive funding from the state, the Minnesota Crisis Hotline will hang up their phones for the final time at the end of the month.
The Star Tribune is reporting that the Oakdale, Minnesota-based Canvas Health sought $1 million in state funding to support its Crisis Connection call center for the next year. That funding was eliminated after Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a supplemental budget bill.
The Minnesota Crisis Hotline was the only center in Minnesota that took calls from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
The National Suicide Hotline (1-800-273-TALK) will work as of next month, but the local crisis hotline will give people other options and other resources to get the help they need as they prepare to shut down.
On average, Canvas says they handle 50,000 calls per year and a majority of them involve someone suffering from suicidal thoughts or mental health crises.
This comes at a time when suicide rates in Minnesota are going up, according to the USA Today. The Star Tribune also reports that suicide rates in Minnesota have been going up for the past decade.