NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s crisis hotline has gotten more calls over the last few months from children on the verge of suicide or in emotional distress than ever before.
The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/1cZNZyh) reports it is unclear what’s causing the increase, but noted it could mean more children in crisis or that more are aware that the hotline exists.
The Department of Mental Health and TennCare pay Memphis-based nonprofit Youth Villages to run the statewide program.
Dawn Puster, who is crisis services director for Youth Villages, says trained counselors are always available to help. In the decade since the hotline was set up, she says nearly 100,000 calls have come in with 68,000 that led to home visits.