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Washington Listens call line provides support for ongoing COVID stress

By Katie Fairbanks, The Daily News
Published: October 22, 2020, 8:51am

LONGVIEW — For Washingtonians feeling stressed, anxious or depressed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a state call line offers a listening ear or connections to help.

Washington Listens provides non-clinical support to people who are sad, anxious or stressed due to COVID-19. The seven-day call line is staffed by trained specialists who can talk to callers about their struggles and refer them to local resources if needed. The number is 1-833-681-0211.

Keri Waterland, Washington Health Care Authority behavioral health director, said the line helps people accept “given everything, it’s okay not to feel okay.”

“The push for this line is to really give folks an outlet to normalize the fact we are in … really unprecedented times,” she said. “We don’t know from day to day what we’re going to be needing to face.”

The line is free and available to anyone in the state. The service is anonymous and staff only track the number and nature of calls, according to the state. Callers can select a language preference or accessibility options.

The Health Care Authority in May received a $2.2 million grant from Federal Emergency Management Agency for the program, with additional support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The program was extended earlier this month through July 2021.

Several providers and tribes operate the program, including Community Integrated Health Services, a behavioral health organization serving Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Lewis, Grays Harbor and Pacific counties.

Washington Listens is not a crisis line to access behavioral health services, a referral line to other services, a replacement for existing services, or a “warm line” for people to talk to a peer with similar mental health problems or experiences.

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Waterland said the line is a resource for people who need support but don’t need or want to call a crisis line or suicide hotline.

Washington Listens also helps ease the burden on crisis teams by taking calls more appropriate for the new line, said Ron Lehto, chief business development officer for Community Integrated Health Services. The pandemic has increased the burden on mobile crisis teams and nationally, call volume has increased five times, he said.

Lehto said many of the callers report stress and anxiety over unemployment and housing, as well as negative mental health effects from isolation.

Survey data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau in September suggests a 16% increase in anxiety and 36% increase in depression among Washington adults, according to the most recent state Behavioral Health Impact Situation Report. Just under 1.8 million reported symptoms of anxiety on most days and more than 1.1 million reported symptoms of depression.

Individuals in a household that experienced a job or income loss were 10% more likely to report feeling depressed, according to the report.

Behavioral health effects already on the rise because of the pandemic are expected to peak throughout the remainder of 2020, according to the state Department of Health. Seasonal affective disorder –depression that occurs the same time every year–and winter holidays typically worsen mental health challenges in the fall and winter, according to the department.

Waterland said she’s hopeful more people will call in to Washington Listens because the purpose of the line is to help people before they get to a crisis situation.

“While this doesn’t replace mental health system, it supports it and gives folks a place to go before a crisis, or before something is beyond your personal control,” she said. “We just want folks to know it’s okay to feel like you just need to have someone to talk to and we want folks to take advantage of great service that’s available.”

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