The number of Canadians facing addiction, mental health and suicidal ideation has been growing at an alarming rate.
Responders with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health have received over 300,000 calls and texts since the launch of its national 988 suicide helpline last year.
Chief medical officer for the helpline Dr. Allison Crawford said that people dealing with suicidal thoughts or other mental health distress may access help 24 hours a day, seven days a week anywhere across the country.
She also anticipates an increase in the volume of calls and texts as more people become aware of the service.
According to Crawford, responders must answer the calls or texts quickly so that the person on the other end of the phone doesn’t give up.
The 988 helpline was launched last November, and will receive $177 million in funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada for the first three years of the program.
While the average wait time for phone calls was 44 seconds and one minute and 47 seconds for text messages last month, Crawford said that staff are continually working to improve wait times.
Once a call is received, it’s immediately rerouted to the closest available responder in relation to the caller, so that they may provide people with access to the best resources in their local community, should they need additional assistance.
Over 2,000 responders work at the CAMH helpline across 39 community agencies throughout Canada.
Executive director of Chimo Community Services in Richmond, B.C. Slinder Bhatti manages between seven and 12 responders on the helpline at one time, depending on the expected volume of calls and text patterns.
Unsurprisingly, the holiday season presents a spike in calls.
Bhatti noted that the 988 line is intended for anyone who is struggling and that people are permitted to call or text multiple times as needed.
“We will not turn anybody away,” said Bhatti.
