AlterCareLine Helps California Residents Going Through a Mental Health Crisis
California—With a critical need for mental health services, BeWellLine has stepped up to help provide solutions. California residents can get free non-clinical social, emotional, and crisis support via BeWellLine’s telephone support line.
BeWellLine is part of Alter Health Group, which has joined with the California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA) to expand Californians’ access to mental health services. Besides phone support from BeWellLine, Alter is also offering virtual chat help on its Mindfuli platform.
The initiative is intended to address suicide and mental health crisis rates that have reached alarming levels. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2021, one American died by suicide every 11 minutes and over 12 million people considered suicide, which was the second-leading cause of death in most youth or young adults.
In response to the disturbing numbers, health officials revamped and expanded the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which provides comprehensive mental health services in addition to suicide prevention. The hotline phone number was simplified to a three-digit number, 9-8-8. Texting capabilities were added to increase the access options for people seeking help.
Since its launch in July 2022, the new hotline has handled over 2 million calls from people in crisis – a 45 percent increase over the number of calls fielded during the same period in the previous year, according to Vibrant Emotional Health, the organization appointed by the federal government to oversee the helpline.
Vibrant says the hotline has also answered over 1 million chats and texts. Even with the increase in call volume, average wait times have dropped from nearly 3 minutes to less than a minute. Additionally, 988 has rolled out variations of the line specifically devoted to the care of at-risk groups like veterans, Spanish speakers, and LGBTQI+ youth. Elsewhere in the country, however, state-operated mental health helplines are reporting disappointing response times because of problems staffing the call centers.
Alter Health Group has joined the effort to help troubled people find better solutions than suicide. Alter specializes in the care and treatment of behavioral and mental health issues to help people live full, happy lives. In its CalHOPE Connect partnership with CalMHSA, Alter provides chat-based support on the Mindfuli platform. Through Mindfuli, users can receive free ongoing virtual peer counseling services through video conferencing and voice and text communication. The Mindfuli virtual care platform also enables peer counselors to refer help seekers to higher levels of care as needed, connecting them to a personalized mental health provider in minutes.
BeWellLine is dedicated to making mental health care, life guidance, and community-based counseling available to everyone across California, free of charge. Its operators take a unique approach to care, combining practical advice with peer companionship. BeWellLine believes in the power of the community to help its callers find the help they need. Its core mission is to create a hub of accessible mental health care, life guidance, and community and make it available to all. BeWellLine helps callers find the mental health resources they need, with special attention to youth and young adults, who struggled with mental health on the ride. Mental health issues are on the rise for middle and high school youth, which are worsened by self-isolation, homelessness, bullying, school, and social pressures, family conflict, and the social and emotional stress that often results from navigating the online world.
Like other mental health programs, BeWellLine offers support groups to encourage a spirit of community healing, but as with everything else BeWellLine offers, its participants meet virtually rather than in person. Virtual groups are available for the LGBTQ+ community, people struggling with substance use disorders, teens, women, and Spanish speakers.
For more information on free telephone support for mental health care, life guidance, and community-based counseling, visit BeWellLine.
