By admin 
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has received three federal grants totaling nearly $7 million from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for suicide prevention, officials said Monday.
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The largest grant, $5.2 million, will be used to improve response to all 988 contacts across calls, chats, and texts and improve service for populations at a high risk of suicide and overdose, according to NCDHHS.
“The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a critical resource for someone experiencing a mental health crisis,” NCDHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai said in a statement. “A recent study showed that almost 88% of people who expressed suicidal thoughts and called 988 credited the service with saving their life. We are grateful to our federal partners for awarding this funding. This grant will help us expand services, improve outcomes and raise awareness of this lifesaving service.”
According to NCDHHS, the department was also awarded a $1.08 million to provide integrated, evidence-based Substance Use Disorder and maternal mental health services for pregnant and postpartum women and their families.
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Officials said the final grant of $750,000 will be used to improve the Mobile Crisis Teams that serve Halifax, Bertie, Hertford, and Northampton counties by helping integrate them better into the Involuntary Commitment process used by magistrates.
“When someone experiences a mental health or substance use crisis, we want to make sure they receive the best and most appropriate response available,” said Kelly Crosbie, the assistant secretary for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services, in a statement.
“Making the system more accessible to magistrates will reduce involuntary commitments, save law enforcement many hours of transportation, and keep people who need mental health support from languishing in emergency departments that are not best suited to treat them,” she continued in her statement.
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