Have you ever called one of the crisis hotlines?

That was a question posed during the three Your Voice MOV forums held last month on the opioid crisis.

The forums were held in Parkersburg, Belpre and Marietta as a mechanism to bring together professionals from the medical community, legal circles and journalists, with those actually affected by the drug epidemic ripping apart families and leaving significant fallout.

Some concern was expressed that when calling the hotlines, it takes too long to reach a real person, or that the person is only available as a referral resource.

The Marietta Times decided to try it out and walk through what questions are asked on the other end of the phone, and what advice is offered.

When both the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the United Way 211 numbers were called after 6 p.m. Wednesday, the same woman was on the other side of the line.

“National Suicide Center Prevention Lifeline, this is Rose,” she answered on the first call, after 56 seconds of music and recordings telling the caller to “please stay on the line.”

As a crisis line responder Rose only gave her first name during both calls. She said she cannot reveal her physical location but said her answering service, Pathways of Central Ohio, serves Licking, Knox, Perry, Morgan and Washington counties.

Then, when 211 was dialed with a landline, the call did not go through.

But with the dialing of 211 from a cell phone, Rose again answered, though this time within 10 seconds of dialing.

She said a more reliable number that can be called from a landline is 740-345-HELP (4357).

Then, over the course of those calls, she walked through what questions she’d ask and how she’d deescalate a real crisis, noting resources and the requirement to ask permission to call law enforcement or other local first responders.

Upon reviewing that call, David Browne, executive director of the Washington County Behavioral Health Board, said he was pleased with most of the results, and said he’d check into others.

“I’ve not called the national number,” he said. “But the 211, the reason we do partially fund them is because they do have a real person trained in mental health matters that will always answer, 24/7.”

He said the 211 service isn’t only for those in mental health crises, though.

“Even if you’re driving and break down along the side of the road but don’t have the money for a tow, 211 has so much information and resources available to help you,” he explained. “Or even if (the person calling) is looking for help in paying rent, medical costs or utility bills.”

In the first six months of 2018, 726 calls were made to 211 from Washington County, 566 of those were concerning crisis and more than 75 percent of them were after normal business hours.

But Browne said his primary concern with the hotlines is, of course, any mental health crisis. He said there is always someone available to answer calls, but didn’t know the numbers of operators available at any given time.

“That’s weird that you got the same person for both phone numbers,” he noted, but was otherwise generally pleased with the questions Rose asked, and what services she recommended.

All except for one, that is.

When making the distinction on the line about if the caller needed immediate assistance or drop-in care, Rose offered the guidance to go to one of the Memorial Health System’s three Washington County hospitals, Belpre, Selby or Marietta’s main campus.

“That’s good that she offered to contact the hospital and let them know you were coming,” he said.

But when she offered the House of Hope, on County House Lane, as a drop-in center, Browne said that’s inaccurate.

“That’s a little blurry, because it’s a drop-in center during the daytime but more for those with mental illness to socialize and have a support system,” said Browne. “I’ll have to call and talk with them about that, that’s not a crisis center.”

Rose also spoke of acting as the after-hours answering service for L&P Services in Marietta, with contact available to reach the on-call counselor if needed.

April Hehr, emergency services supervisor for L&P, explained Thursday what happens in that situation where the referral to the on-call staff is made.

“We’re not doing over-the-phone counseling, we’re on-call to go to the emergency rooms, jail and juvenile center to do assessments and see what placement is appropriate, whether that’s a hospital stay or outpatient therapy with L&P,” said Hehr. “Sometimes it’s clients we already see, sometimes it’s not, it’s really a range.”

Overall, Browne said he was impressed with the responses and resources Rose offered.

“That’s better than I expected, I’m happy with it,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of money to be able to pay for 24/7 staff here so you take what you can get, but I think she did an excellent job.”

By the numbers:

¯ In Washington County, between January and the end of June, 211 answered an average of:

¯ 8.5 daytime crisis calls each month.

¯ 85.83 after-hours crisis calls each month.

¯ 16.3 calls for financial assistance each month.

Source: Washington County Behavioral Health Board.