Senior Resource Focus

Editor’s Note: National Suicide Prevention Week is an annual week-long campaign in the United States to inform and engage health professionals and the general public about suicide prevention and warning signs of suicide. Robann Arshat, GRF member resources and assistance liaison, prepared the following article to remind people that help is available.

People can reach the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, the new threedigit dialing code that will route callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which is comprised of a national network of over 200 local crisis centers.

It became available to everyone across the United States starting on July 16. This new, shorter phone number will make it easier for people to remember and access mental health crisis services, combining custom local care and resources with national standards and best practices.

The lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones. It utilizes the guidance of experts, as well as the voices of lived experience, to continually improve lifeline services. These individuals bring invaluable knowledge and support to their mission of reducing the national incidence of suicide.

The lifeline is available for everyone; it’s free and confidential.

Lifeline options for deaf and hard of hearing are as follows: TTY Users: dial 711, then 988.

Additional crisis services and hotlines include:

• Crisis Assessment Team (CAT) responds to psychiatric emergency calls throughout the Orange County Community. CAT can respond to private residences at the time of a crisis and provide evaluation for any adult who has a psychiatric emergency or who is at psychiatric risk or needing psychiatric hospitalization. Anyone can make a call to the CAT team in time of crisis, whether it’s a family member, friend or neighbor having a psychiatric outburst, or any type of behavioral or mental breakdown that has escalated.

To reach the Crisis Assessment Team, call 24/7 toll free (866) 830-6044, (714) 517-6353 or the Older Adult Behavioral Health CAT team at (866) 8306011.

• Veterans Crisis Line, (988) or 1(800) 273-8255 (option 1) Residents are invited to visit the brochure display in Building 5 for more information.

To book an appointment to learn more about the information here, call Robann Arshat at (562) 431-6586, ext. 317.