211 Helpline Center
‘Rethinking Suicide’: Expert urges South Dakota audience to challenge assumptions
SIOUX FALLS — The Centers for Disease Control says up to 45% of the people who kill themselves had no history of mental illness. Psychiatrists and psychologists think 90% of them have such a history. The disconnect between the two figures is one reason health care professionals need to look beyond their assumptions if they […]
Declining use of mobile crisis team is good and bad news for Sioux Falls area
Just over a decade ago, police in Sioux Falls began a partnership with Southeastern Behavioral Health that allowed counselors to take over for officers during mental health crisis calls. The goal of that mobile crisis team (MCT) was to de-escalate situations where a caller had expressed thoughts of suicide or self-harm by working through the […]
Calls to 211 Helpline Center rising again after post-pandemic lull
Mental health calls to South Dakota’s 211 Helpline declined as the COVID-19 pandemic tapered off, but calls for all needs – especially for housing help – are on the rise again. That was among the major takeaways from a Department of Social Services (DSS) presentation on the operations of the statewide assistance call center on […]