This Sunday is 988 Day, meant to raise awareness of the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which has been in operation a little over two years. In Springfield, peer specialists are stepping in to help.
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is made up of a network of over 200 local and state-funded crisis contact centers across the U.S., including Burrell Behavioral Health in Springfield.
Natasha Corkins, the southwest director of Crisis Services at Burrell, said the number of people calling 988 for help has doubled this year over last year. That’s due, in large part, she believes, to more people knowing it exists thanks to educational efforts.
Corkins said Missouri’s crisis continuum focuses on three major things: Someone to talk to, someone to respond and somewhere to go. At Burrell, she said, they have all three – their crisis line, a mobile crisis team and their Behavioral Crisis Center.
They’re also using certified peer specialists to offer warm lines for low and no risk callers.
"If somebody is calling, they're in crisis, they will get a trained crisis specialist to help them through that," said Corkins. "And then once that risk has passed, because crisis interventions are time limited, we can't, you know, we can't be on there providing just prolonged support, our job is to assist with getting people to the next step, which is resources — therapy, outpatient psychiatry, things like that. So what we do is we offer to transfer that call once they're at low to no risk to a certified peer specialist that is also crisis trained, and they can work with them on some local resources and maybe schedule a follow up call or something like that.”
Certified peer specialists are people with lived experience. One peer specialist at Burrell is Sam Glaubitz. She’s part of the mobile crisis team and is on the schizophrenic spectrum. She said she enjoys helping with a person's recovery journey, "whether that's providing education resources to support, so whenever a crisis call is transferred to a peer, we work on recovery goals," she said. "We discuss what they're working on in treatment, you know, and I help them kind of navigate the different resources that there are available. And I really love my work."
She loves being able to help people in crisis – by offering water or a warm blanket and then helping them with a step-by-step safety plan.
“Because whenever people are overwhelmed, you know, their brain can be bouncing off the walls, and it's easier if they like a step-by-step plan on what to do next," she said, "and just meeting them where they’re at.”
Glaubitz has struggled with chronic suicidal ideation for nearly 20 years and said she’s comfortable talking with others who are having suicidal thoughts. As someone with lived experience, she advocates for the least restrictive means of getting help. She said people don’t necessarily have to be admitted in those situations. One way they can help is working with the person to secure and remove lethal means.
“We empower our peers to be safe, and I try to create an environment with my crisis specialist team so that people can really share their burdens without the fear of repercussions such as being admitted, which can cause you to lose your job," she said. "It can cause you to miss appointments, other appointments. It can take you away from your family, you know what I mean? So it's harm reduction.”
She’s proud of the fact that, once a person calls 988 and is directed to Burrell, the average time it takes for someone to pick up the phone is four to 10 seconds.
Corkins said peer specialists have been involved in mental health for years. But with the rollout of 988, Burrell came up with the idea of a warm line and getting peer specialists involved "because, you know, mobile crisis can only respond to one at a time," she said, "and if we're not getting requests for mobile crisis response, well, how do we still get peers out there and working with people and sharing that lived experience and letting people know that they're not alone, that it's OK. And you still have so many wonderful things happening in your life while you live with this condition or with this substance abuse disorder or things like that? And that's by letting them talk to them."
Glaubitz said she’s worked in mental health as a peer for 10 years in various area, but when the position opened up in the Mobile Crisis Unit she knew she wanted to apply. She said, being a peer, she has many tools at her disposal that she can use to help people.
Anyone who’s in a crisis and needs help can either call, text or chat 988. Conversations are confidential, and you can be connected with the Lifeline’s Veterans, Spanish language, LGBTQI+ services or your local 988 Lifeline contact center. Find out more at 988lifeline.org.
