PORTLAND, Ore. — In an effort to prevent suicide and promote mental health wellness, Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have secured funding to help multiple organizations throughout the state.
While September is National Suicide Prevention Month, the goal is to keep help accessible all year long.
Life for Lines is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping those with substance abuse issues and those struggling with their mental health. YouthLine is a service within that organization that serves as a teen-to-teen crisis line, so those in need of help can speak to a peer who may be able to relate to them better.
“These young people are making an enormous difference," Wyden said about the student volunteers.
The senators announced $1.1 million in funding will go to expanding YouthLine.
“Mental health challenges do not take a single day off; they are 24/7 around the clock, and we’re committed to showing that Oregon is going to be in the lead in terms of meeting those needs," said Wyden.
Wyden said his brother had schizophrenia and knows what it's like to worry about family or friends with mental health problems. Now, he said he's dedicated his career to expanding services like this.
“We have an opportunity to lead the nation in terms of these services, and 100% of Oregon's United States senators are committed to doing that.," he said.
YouthLine is available for contact 24/7, but specifically between 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Young people struggling can reach out to them and talk to a highly trained student volunteer for help if they choose.
However, CEO of Lines for Life Dwight Holton said data shows lots of people have called between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. for help, but there's no younger people available to talk during those hours.
The hope is soon, they will be able to hire more young people to staff those hours, and even open up more locations.
“Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people in Oregon. We’ve seen a recent uptick in suicide among young people in Oregon. After three years of progress, bringing those suicide numbers down, they’ve come back up, so it’s an enormous challenge. We really need to be there," said Holton.
Merkley also mentioned some of the ideas for future expansion.
“For example, they’re looking at being able to establish a site in Hawaii to expand those hours of connection," said Merkley. “We know that the mental health stresses on our kids have been magnified by COVID, magnified by social media; it’s just a huge set of challenges."
Student volunteers, like Avni, said the senators coming out to speak with them and invest in the program meant a lot to her.
“People like Sen. Wyden and Sen. Merkley coming here and showing us that mental health is at the forefront of legislation in Oregon is so important to us," said Avni, who is a shift lead at YouthLine. “There’s been too much time in this country where mental health has been seen as something that’s less important than physical health."
Plus, the youth aren't the only ones being invested in.
“Sen. Merkley and I have put it at the top of our priority list to expand mental health services for veterans," said Wyden. “Programs to help prevent suicides among veterans are so crucial."
There is also $1.8 million going to supporting three Oregon community organizations to help with suicide prevention programs and services: WestCare Oregon Inc., Veteran Rites Inc. and the Permission to Start Dreaming Foundation.
According to Veterans Affairs, in 2021, the veteran suicide rate per 100,000 people was significantly higher than the national veteran suicide rate.
Executive director Ryan Mielcarek explained how the funds will help Veteran Rites.
“It will empower us to actually pay and train deeply skilled veteran peer supporters and council facilitators to go out into the community and humble the space that our community needs to heal," said Mielcarek.
The senators' work does not stop there, and they said more funding and programs might be on the way.
“Today was a bit of really good news, the $1.1 million. We have more to do with the $1.6 million coming up, and that will give us a chance to expand services," said Wyden.
“I am trying to provide a program that would provide a lot more counselors to our Title 1 schools," said Merkley. “There’s no way you can hire more if they don’t exist.”
The Oregon YouthLine can be reached at 877-968-8491.
If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, which is open 24-7.