It's no secret that it’s harder, if not impossible, for people to meaningfully engage in mental health treatment when their immediate needs aren’t met, including safe housing, food, money, and transportation. However, there are other common, often related, barriers to care—racism, stigma, lack of culturally competent care, and resource and
A wild cranberry-colored line immediately appears as the liquid moves along the strip. No need to wait 30 seconds, let alone the 15 minutes stated in the directions—an expletive slips between my teeth. “What?” my son calls out. “What is it? Do I have Covid?” I enter his room wearing two
Craig Miller says he’s grateful for 988, the newly launched nationwide three-digit number for mental health, substance use, and suicidal crises. Not just for the number itself, but because it shows people who are struggling that those in power, like legislators and agency heads, care. “When you feel ‘they’ care—the
When Congress amended the Communications Act of 1934, designating 988 as the nationwide three-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, the language focused on suicide prevention and mental health crises. The landmark National Suicide Hotline Designation Act became public law in October 2020. States across the United States quickly
In February 2020, Utah’s state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn went to a legislative caucus to discuss a potential public health concern. “She came to tell us about something called Covid,” says Utah State Rep. Steve Eliason. “We were chatting before the caucus started, and I said, ‘You know, whatever happens
Long before the Covid pandemic, which thrust students across the United States into virtual classrooms, the internet was an issue for rural and remote communities. At every National Association of Counties rural caucus Dr. Ron Manderscheid attended throughout the years, a county commissioner shared the same story. He’s executive director
There’s not much about Covid-19 that any country would consider favorable. However, for England, the pandemic resulted in the acceleration and expansion of mental healthcare services. Today, this means that in counties across the nation, communities have access to services that only two years ago were, at best, part of
Like many Indigenous boys in Australia, Joe Williams dreamt of becoming a rugby player. His father, Wilfred Williams, played in the National Rugby League. “I grew up watching him play on TV,” says Williams. “I wanted to do everything I could to do that too.” At night, he slept with
“Working together, we can build a mental health and suicide prevention system that is genuinely joined up, properly resourced and provides for all Australians the most simple but powerful comfort: that they matter” -The Hon Scott Morrison MP, Prime Minister of Australia on releasing the National Mental Health and Suicide
With 988—the nationwide three-digit number for mental health, substance use, and suicide crisis—going “live” on July 16, Kana Enomoto says a massive cultural shift is happening in communities across the nation. That’s why she and her McKinsey Health Institute colleagues collaborated with RI International to develop a user-friendly, interactive Crisis
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