>> NEARLY 92,000 CONTACTS RELATED TO MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE SUPPORT CAME ACROSS THE 9-8-8 WISCONSIN LIFELINE IN ITS FIRST FULL YEAR OF OPERATION.

THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES SAYS THE LIFELINE SYSTEM HAS REDUCED PRESSURES ON OTHER EMERGENCY SYSTEMS AND REPORTS THAT 98% OF INTERACTIONS WERE DEEMED RESOLVED.

FOR MORE ON THE STATE'S MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES, WE TURN TO D.H.S.

SECRETARY DESIGNEE KIRSTEN JOHNSON.

THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

>> WERE YOU SURPRISED BY THE 92,000 NUMBER OF CONTACTS IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THIS 9-8-8 SERVICE?

>> I DON'T THINK I NECESSARILY WAS SURPRISED.

I THINK IT REALLY DEMONSTRATES THE NEED WE HAVE IN WISCONSIN AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY, FRANKLY, TO MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE IMMEDIATELY IN REAL TIME WHEN THEY NEED SUPPORT AROUND MENTAL HEALTH.

>> SO IF SOMEONE CALLS THE 9-8-8 LINE AND THEY ARE IN CRISIS, MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS, WHAT WILL THEY GET ON THE OTHER END?

>> SURE.

THEY'LL GET SOMEONE WHO IS TRAINED TO DEESCALATE A SCENARIO OR SITUATION, HOW TO FIND SUPPORT WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITY, TO CONNECT THEM WITH OTHER RESOURCES, A PROVIDER IF THEY NEEDED A BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROVIDER, AND IF IT TRULY IS A SCENARIO WHERE THERE'S A CRISIS AND AN ACTION HAPPENING, THEY CAN BE CONNECTED TO EMERGENCY SERVICES.

>> WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SAY THAT 98% OF THE CONTACTS ARE RESOLVED?

>> SURE.

SO THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.

THAT MEANS 98% OF THE CALLS THAT ARE ANSWERED ARE RESOLVED IN TERMS OF THE PERSON IS COMFORTABLE HANGING UP THE PHONE, THE INDIVIDUAL WHO IS WORKING AT THE 9-8-8 CALL CENTER FEELS COMFORTABLE THAT THEY ARE SAFE, AND DEPENDING ON THE SCENARIO, THERE MAY BE A FOLLOW-UP CALL SCHEDULED IF THE INDIVIDUAL IS COMFORTABLE SHARING THEIR PERSONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT INFORMATION, THERE MAY BE A CASE MANAGER THAT'S ASSIGNED TO A FOLLOW-UP, BUT THAT MEANS WHEN THEY HANG UP THE PHONE, THE PERSON IN THE CALL CENTER FEELS COMFORTABLE THAT THAT PERSON IS SAFE.

>> AND THESE CALLS COULD PRESUMABLY TAKE SOME TIME.

RIGHT?

I MEAN, HOW LONG DO PEOPLE SPEND ON THE PHONE WITH PEOPLE WHO REALLY NEED THAT HELP?

>> SO THE AVERAGE CALL IS ABOUT 20 MINUTES, BUT THAT'S AVERAGE.

SO IT'S INTERESTING.

I JUST ASKED THIS QUESTION EARLIER OF THE 9-8-8 STAFF, HOW LONG -- SO A TEXT MESSAGE COULD TAKE UP TO TWO HOURS.

ON AVERAGE, CALLS ARE ABOUT 20 MINUTES.

>> HOW DO DO THE REGARDLESSULATIONS, THE CASES, THE CALLS THAT ARE RESOLVED, FREE UP OTHER SERVICES THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE BE CALLED UPON?

>> THAT'S ALSO AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.

ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF CALLERS ARE ACTUALLY REPEAT CALLERS, SO THEY'RE PEOPLE WHO NOW RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS A RESOURCE THAT THEY CAN ACCESS.

IT HAS ALLEVIATED SOME OF THE DEMANDS ON OUR CRISIS CALL CENTERS IN OUR COUNTIES, BUT ALSO ALLEVIATES SOME OF THE 9-1-1 CALLS, SO PEOPLE WHO NEED THE IMMEDIATE TOUCH POINT, THEY NEED SOMEBODY TO TALK TO, ACTUALLY HAVE AN OUTLET WHERE THEY HAVE A WARM BODY TO TALK THEM THROUGH THE SCENARIO THEY'RE IN.

>> OUTSIDE OF THIS LIFELINE, WHAT DOES ACCESS TO NON-EMERGENCY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE LOOK LIKE ACROSS THE STATE RIGHT NOW?

>> CERTAINLY, WE HAVE CHALLENGES IN TERMS OF ACCESS TO CARE.

THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC, I THINK WE HAD CHALLENGES AROUND MENTAL HEALTH AND ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES BEFORE THE PANDEMIC.

THEY WERE CERTAINLY EXACERBATED OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST 3-1/2 YEARS, SO THERE ARE LONG WAIT TIMES TO GET INTO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROVIDERS.

THIS IS A TOUCH POINT FOR PEOPLE.

I'VE ALSO LEARNED FROM THE STAFF THAT THE PEOPLE THAT CALL BACK MAY HAVE AN APPOINTMENT SIX MONTHS OUT, NINE MONTHS OUTED, BUT BECAUSE THEY HAVE A CONTACT THAT THEY KNOW THEY CAN CALL WEEKLY, OR EVERY FEW WEEKS, SOMEBODY THAT THEY TRUST, THAT THEY MAY NOT NEED THAT CRISIS LEVEL IN SIX OR EIGHT MONTHS, THAT THEY MAY TALK ABOUT THE ISSUES THAT THEY'RE EXPERIENCING IN REAL TIME AND HAVE THEM RESOLVED.

>> BECAUSE I WAS THINKING THAT IF SOMEONE -- ONE OF THE CALL TAKERS ON THE LINE OFFERS RESOURCES TO PEOPLE WHO CALL, THEY MIGHT BE KIND OF THIN.

RIGHT?

OR THEY CALL AND IT'S LIKE, YEAH, LIKE YOU SAY, SIX MONTHS OUT, THAT KIND OF THING, SO I CAN SEE THAT REPEAT KIND OF CALL-BACK.

ARE THE PRESSURES OF DAILY LIFE AND THE OVERALL NEED FOR HELP GREATER RIGHT NOW?

>> YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THERE WAS CERTAINLY AN INCREASED NEED FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, LIKE I MENTIONED.

I DO THINK THEY'VE INCREASED POST-PANDEMIC.

WE REALLY WENT THROUGH THREE YEARS OF UPHEAVAL IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, INCOME AND, YOU KNOW, ACCESS TO CHILDCARE AND HAVING TO WORK FROM HOME AND CHILDREN AT HOME AND KIDS AT HOME AND REMOTE WORK AND REMOTE SCHOOL I THINK THERE'S ABOUT A LOT OF CHANGE IN OUR SOCIETY OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST 3-1/2 YEARS, AND I THINK PEOPLE ARE REALLY STRUGGLING.

>> DO YOU FEEL AS THOUGH THIS 9-8-8 SERVICE AND KIND OF THE DISCUSSION AROUND IT AND THE PROMOTION OF IT HELPS COMBAT THE STIGMA OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES?

>> I THINK IT HAS.

I DO THINK IT HAS.

AND I DO THINK THAT HAS, OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST FIVE YEARS, PRE-PANDEMIC, PEOPLE ARE TALKING MORE ABOUT THE PERSONAL CHALLENGES AND STRUGGLES.

I THINK ANOTHER OUTLET FOR PEOPLE HAS BEEN SOCIAL MEDIA, WHICH HAS BEEN BOTH A BLESSING AND A CURSE IN TERMS OF PEOPLE ARE MORE FORTHCOMING ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE EXPERIENCING IN THEIR LIVES.

THE FLIP SIDE OF THAT IS THERE'S A TENDENCY TO PORTRAY PERFECTIONISM, WHICH I THINK IS CHALLENGING FOR KIDS TO TRY TO FEEL THAT THEY'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH, THEY'RE NOT -- THEY'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH WHEN THEY COMPARE THEMSELVES TO OTHERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

BUT AGAIN, I DO THINK THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASED NEED OVER THE COURSE OF TIME AND I THINK THAT PEOPLE ARE MORE WILLING TO REACH OUT AND ASK FOR HELP.

>> IN SUM, WHAT MESSAGE TO PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NEED HELP DO YOU HAVE?

>> THAT THERE IS HELP.

THAT THERE IS HOPE.

THAT THERE ARE OUTLETS.

THEY CAN CALL 9-8-8.

THE OTHER VALUABLE TOOL THAT WE HAVE IS CONNECTED TO 2-1-1, WHICH IS A ROBUST SYSTEM OF RESOURCES, SO THOSE 9-8-8 -- THE PEOPLE ANSWERING THE PHONE ARE ABLE TO GIVE LOCAL RESOURCES TO PEOPLE WHO CALL, AND I THINK IT'S A TREMENDOUS VALUE TO WISCONSINITES.

>> ALL RIGHT.