A phone service that directs calls to crisis lines throughout the province is now facing a crisis of its own.
The service, run by the Crisis Line Association of B.C., operates the toll-free 1-800-suicide and 310-mental health (310-6789) numbers, which will be shut down July 1, when funding runs out.
The two numbers were created in 2004 and 2008 respectively, with one-time grants and "transitional dollars" from various provincial organizations, including the Provincial Health Services Authority.
The association needs $177,800 annually to continue the service, which routes calls to the province's 14 individual crisis lines.
Having a provincewide number for either suicide intervention, or mental health crises, is important, said Jackie Yurick, spokesperson for the Crisis Line Association of B.C., because the numbers are easy to remember and because they give callers more chances to have their calls routed to a counsellor on one of the regional crisis lines, rather than getting a voice message.
Since the two network numbers were launched, they've handled 50,000 calls, and B.C. crisis lines field one call every three-and-a-half minutes, according to the association.
During times when demand for service is high, the service automatically re-routes calls to other crisis lines to increase response time.
