Emotionally or mentally distressed residents in Benton County now have access to a 24-7 service.
The county’s Mental Health Division says it’s started a partnership with Crisis Text Line. Volunteers help assess the severity of risk and respond with collaborative problem-solving to help the texter stay safe.
Dannielle Brown is Benton County’s Behavioral Health Deputy Director. She says texting can give people – especially youth – privacy when sharing their problems.
“Kids can be sitting in a classroom and texting Crisis Text Line or sitting across the living room from their parents and texting," says Brown.
"And it looks innocuous to somebody that’s watching versus on a phone call that can be overheard or going into a clinic or any other kind of less anonymous interaction style.”
Since 2013, Crisis Text Line has addressed nearly 80 million messages, nationwide.
Users can text the word, “OREGON” to the numbers, “741741” for real-time support.
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