Duke Foundation awards grant
PLAINFIELD — When the national “988” suicide prevention hotline goes into service in 2022, Indiana’s suicide prevention call centers will be on the frontlines.
The Duke Energy Foundation has awarded a $100,000 grant to the Mental Health America — Wabash Valley Region in Lafayette to expand staffing at two call centers currently serving 87 of Indiana’s 92 counties. A Better Way in Muncie, which operates one of the call centers, will receive half of the funding.
Last year, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules to establish 988 as the new, nationwide, easy-to-remember 3-digit phone number for Americans in crisis to connect with suicide prevention and mental health crisis counselors. The new number will go into service in July 2022, and call volume from the higher-profile number is expected to increase demands at Indiana suicide prevention call centers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in Indiana, and the second-leading cause of death among Hoosiers aged 15 to 34.
