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DIAL 9.8.8. IF YOU NEED TO TALK.

THE 988 LIFELINE IS HERE.

BACK TO HOPE HOME

CRISIS INTERVENTION

Need Help Now? Are you or someone you care about struggling right now?

Help is available. You do not need to wait until a situation becomes an emergency to ask for support.

Putnam County Crisis Intervention Hotline

Call or Text: 845-225-1222
Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Free and confidential support is available for individuals and families experiencing a mental health, emotional, or substance use-related crisis.

Mobile Crisis Outreach Team

Call: 845-379-2463
Monday–Friday, 12:00–8:00 PM
Mobile Crisis can provide support and crisis intervention in the community and help connect individuals and families with appropriate services.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Call or Text: 988 — Available 24/7
Contact 988 if you are experiencing emotional distress, having thoughts of suicide, worried about someone you care about, or simply need someone to talk to.

Veterans Crisis Line

Call 988, then press 1, or text 838255.

Crisis Text Line

Text HOME to 741741.

  • If there is an immediate danger or medical emergency, call 911.

What Is a Crisis?

What Happens When I Call?

Worried About Someone?

Creating a Safer Environment During a Crisis

What Is a Crisis?

A crisis is any situation in which a person feels overwhelmed and has difficulty coping with what is happening. A crisis looks different for everyone. You do not have to be suicidal or have a mental health diagnosis to need crisis support.

Sometimes a crisis develops suddenly. Other times, stress builds over days or weeks until it becomes difficult to manage.

A person may need help because they are:

  • Feeling extremely anxious, panicked, depressed, hopeless, or overwhelmed
  • Having thoughts of suicide or self-harm
  • Experiencing a significant change in mood or behavior
  • Struggling with alcohol or substance use
  • Having difficulty coping with a loss, relationship problems, family conflict, or other stressful event
  • Experiencing confusion, unusual thoughts, paranoia, or hearing or seeing things others do not
  • Having difficulty functioning at home, work, or school
  • Worried that they may lose control or hurt themselves or someone else
  • Concerned about the behavior or emotional well-being of a family member or friend

If you are unsure whether the situation is a crisis, it is okay to call. A crisis professional can listen, help you understand what is happening, and talk with you about the next step.

What Happens When You Call?

Reaching out for help can feel intimidating, especially if you have never called a crisis line before.

When you contact a crisis service, a trained professional will listen to what is happening, help determine what you need, and work with you to identify the safest and most appropriate next step.

Depending on the situation, that may include:

  • Talking through the immediate problem
  • Developing a plan to help you or your loved one stay safe
  • Connecting you with mental health or substance use services
  • Providing information and support to family members
  • Arranging additional crisis assistance when needed
  • Helping you determine whether emergency care is necessary

You can also call if you are concerned about someone else. You do not need to know exactly what is wrong or what type of help they need.

Worried About Someone?

You may notice that a friend, family member, coworker, or loved one just doesn’t seem like themselves.

Take changes seriously, especially if someone is talking about feeling hopeless, trapped, like a burden, or having no reason to live; withdrawing from others; giving away possessions; increasing their use of alcohol or drugs; behaving recklessly; or talking about death or suicide.

It is okay to ask directly:

“Are you thinking about suicide?”

Asking about suicide does not put the idea in someone’s head. It can open the door to an important conversation and help someone get the support they need.

If you are concerned, stay with the person when possible and contact 988, the Putnam County Crisis Intervention Hotline at 845-225-1222, or 911 if there is immediate danger.

Creating a Safer Environment During a Crisis

When someone is experiencing a suicidal crisis, reducing access to things that could be used to cause serious harm can save lives.

Suicidal crises can be intense and may occur during relatively short periods of heightened distress. Creating time and distance between a person in crisis and things they could use to seriously harm themselves can save lives.

What Families and Friends Can Do

  • Stay with the person or make sure another trusted person is with them.
  • Secure or temporarily remove firearms from the home when possible and lawful.
  • Secure medications and have a trusted person manage them temporarily.
  • Reduce access to other items that could be used for self-harm.
  • Contact a crisis professional for guidance and support.

You do not have to manage the situation by yourself!

Help Is Available: Call or text 988 or the Putnam County Crisis Intervention Hotline at 845-225-1222 for help. You don’t have to know exactly what to say when you call. You can simply start with:

“I’m worried about myself.”

“I’m worried about someone I care about and I’m not sure what to do.”

Reaching out is enough to start the conversation.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Here are some of the reasons why reducing access to lethal means is important:

  • Many suicide attempts take place during a short-term crisis, so it is important to consider a person’s access to lethal means during these periods of increased risk.
  • Access to lethal means is a risk factor for suicide.
  • Reducing access to lethal means saves lives.

WHAT YOU
CAN DO

Families, organizations, health care providers, and policymakers can take many actions to reduce access to lethal means of self-harm. Some of these are general household health and safety precautions that should be used regardless of suicide risk. Examples include limiting access to medications and storing firearms safely when not in use.

Other actions may be more appropriate when a person is at risk for suicide. If someone in the home is feeling suicidal, has recently attempted suicide, or is experiencing a crisis, it is safest to remove lethal means from the household entirely until the situation improves.

For example:

  • Store firearms with law enforcement (if allowed), or lock up firearms and put the key in a safe deposit box or give the key to a friend until the crisis has passed.
  • Ask a family member to store medications safely and dispense safe quantities as necessary.

Some communities also focus means restriction efforts on local suicide “hotspots,” such as bridges. As part of strategic planning, states, tribes, and communities should examine their data to identify what suicide means they should address.

Families, organizations, health care providers, and policymakers can take many actions to reduce access to lethal means of self-harm.

TAKE
ACTION

Obtain and share knowledge about the issue and how others can help.

  • Learn more about this topic by visiting the Means Matter website, maintained by the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
  • Educate family members and others about ways to limit access to lethal means during a suicidal crisis.
  • Train mental health professionals in lethal means counseling. (See the free online course Counseling on Access to Lethal Means.)
  • Train nontraditional providers in lethal means counseling, for example, divorce and defense attorneys, probation/parole officers, and first responders.
  • Educate the community about options for temporary storage of a firearm outside of the home during a suicidal crisis.

Collaborate with others in your community to increase safety.

  • Institute lethal means counseling policies in health and behavioral health care settings and train health care providers in these settings.
  • Pass policies that exempt at-risk patients from mandatory 90-day refill policies.
  • Work collaboratively with gun retailers and gun owner groups on suicide prevention efforts. (See Gun Shop Project for examples of materials developed with and for firearms retailers and range owners.)
  • Distribute free or low-cost gun locks or gun safes.
  • Ensure that bridges and high buildings have protective barriers.

PUTNAM COUNTY CONTACT INFORMATION
PHONE 845.808.1000

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