GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Shaniqua Nelson finds herself in a better mindset these days.
“I was running for a long time because I didn’t have help,” said Nelson.
Three years ago, the Grand Rapids mother of five says she reached a breaking point and contemplated suicide.
“Being a single mom… it's really exhausting sometimes, but it's a joy at the same time,” said Nelson. “You try to keep it together until you can't keep it together no more, and so that's where I was at.”
Nelson decided to get help though, and found it in I Matter, We Matter (IMWM), a mental health organization in the city that provides free services to people who live in the 49507 zip code.
READ MORE: Local organization looks to close disparities in minority mental health care
“I want people to know that it's okay not to be okay,” said Jamie Dalton, founder of IMWM and a licensed clinical social worker. “We understand that hurt people hurt people, but we also know that hurt people can help people.”
Dalton believes in the work her organization provides, but describes other resources like the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, as vitally important too.
“For me, I tell people to utilize 988,” said Dalton. “I want to see them use these resources, sometimes even before connecting with me, because the thing is, I need to see you help you. That's so important because there's going to be a time I'm not going to be there, or your support is not going to be there.”
The hotline is free and anonymous. It’s available 24/7.
READ MORE: Michigan prepared for 988 suicide prevention hotline rollout
Federal officials launched it last July, with the hope that a simpler dialing code would be easier to remember in a time of need.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 988 answered nearly 5 million calls, texts, and, chats in the past year, which is 2 million more than the previous 12 months.
“It’s one more resource for them at a, you know, push of a button, to have somebody readily available to listen to them and maybe guide them or connect them to that help,” said Maricela Alcala.
Alcala is the CEO of Gryphon Place in Kalamazoo, which receives calls made to 988. She says that they did not initially get many, but that has changed as more people have learned about the number. The organization says it responded to over 22,000 calls last year.
“When we're on a call, we do measure the what we call ideation of the thought, the intensity of the thought,” said Alcala. “We want to ensure that when we hang up on that call that thought is not as strong, or hopefully not even there anymore, as when they first answered, and if it is, and we take those the measures that need to be taken in place.”
This month, an option was added to 988 which allows LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults under the age of 25 to be connected to a counselor specifically focused on their needs. Text and chat support in Spanish was also rolled out.
HHS says it plans to add video services later this year too for deaf and hard of hearing people.
The hotline already links military members and veterans to the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL). According to HHS, almost 1 million of the nearly 5 million contacts were answered by VCL.
No matter who needs help though, Alcala, Dalton, and Nelson hope people reach out and get themselves to a better mindset.
“Get the help that you need,” said Nelson. “Don't be afraid and don't try to do it by yourself, because it will break you trying to do it by yourself.”
