Ads driving calls to new metro mental-health hotline - The Denver Post
Ads driving calls to new metro mental-health hotline - The Denver Post Since catchy highway-sign-style ads for the Metro Crisis Line were plastered on buses and billboards throughout the seven-county metro region Jan. 3, the number of daily calls for help has doubled and the number of website hits has tripled. "The majority of calls are from people who really, really need care and know it, but they just can't figure out where to find it," said Daniel Ward, chief executive of Metro Crisis Services, the region's first coordinated system of 24-hour emergency care for people suffering from behavioral health problems. The signs provide the road map to help, offering such destinations as the "State of Depression: Pop. 15 million" and "Now Entering the State of Relief." The simple but catchy public-service announcements include the phone number for the Metro Crisis Line, a free 2 4/7 hotline staffed by licensed mental-health professionals. Since the signs debuted, they've helped people suffering from conditions as varied as alcoholism and anxiety find the help they need. The biggest service has been referrals from the organization's electronic Rolodex of 900 mental-health-service providers in the seven-county region. According to statistics from the federal government, of the 2.7 million people living in the seven Denver-metro counties, nearly 112,000 adults are living with serious mental illness, and at least 277,792 people have substance-use disorders.
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