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Before the 24/7 mobile crisis response team rolled out in January, West Central Behavioral Health reached out to schools, police departments and hospitals to let them know about a similar service across New Hampshire. Upper Valley.
Seen as an important new tool in the toolbox for suicide prevention, West Central’s commitment to more ground-breaking has been embraced by government and community institutions.
With one exception: Dartmouth College.
The college’s response “falls short in our minds,” West Central CEO Roger Osmun said Wednesday.
Last summer, Doug Williamson, chairman of West Central’s board of trustees, contacted Heather Earle, director of the Dartmouth Counseling Center, a retired Alice Peck Day pediatrician.
“She was very enthusiastic, but once she started working her way up the management ladder, it didn’t go anywhere,” Williamson, a 1985 Dartmouth graduate, told me Thursday.
“I feel like Dartmouth is worried about losing control,” he added. “They’re trying to do it themselves.”
In light of the recent tragedies on and off campus, Dartmouth-U’s this veiled stance is disappointing.
Following the announcement of the deaths of two students in late September, 500 members of the Dartmouth community gathered in front of the library as college leaders spoke about efforts to improve mental health services. “One size does not fit all,” said Dartmouth Interim Dean Scott Brown.
The Dartmouth Counseling Center offers 24-hour crisis mental health services. The center’s website has a long list of phone numbers for national helplines and emergency services in the Upper Valley, including Hanover police and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center ER.
But there was no mention of the West Central Mobile Crisis Response Team or the 24/7 New Hampshire Rapid Response Crisis Line that launched in January.
I’d like to think the omissions have something to do with the services being new.
In a state not known for spending heavily on social services, New Hampshire officials last year approved $52.4 million in contracts with the state’s 10 mental health centers. West Central, which covers southern Grafton County and Sullivan County, saw its state allocation go from $1.4 million to $3 million. He also raised private funds to support the disaster team.
New Hampshire’s new 24/7 mental health call center is tied to the state’s network of mobile crisis teams. A trained worker will make calls from people experiencing mental health crises – or anyone on their behalf.
After assessing the caller’s needs, mental health staff decide to refer the caller to a crisis response team. (West Central’s seven-member team includes mental health clinicians with master’s degrees.)
“No insurance required. They don’t get math,” said Osmun, a psychologist who was named West Central’s CEO in 2019 after 22 years at a behavioral health nonprofit that served suburban Philadelphia.
West Central adopted what Osmun calls the firehouse model: “There are people who wake up and work at two in the morning.”
The two-man teams drive unmarked vehicles and wear plain clothes to meet callers at their homes, streets, parking lots or wherever people choose. “Ideally, we should be able to keep 99% of people safe and secure in the community,” Osmun said.
On Thursday, Dartmouth announced it is partnering with UWIL, a student teletherapy provider, to offer free mental health services by phone, video and chat starting Nov. 1. This “comes amid the worst mental health crisis in the world.” The nation and campus are grieving the loss of so many community members,” the college said in a news release.
Which brings me back to West Central. The Lebanon-based nonprofit, which has been providing outpatient mental health services since 1977, can offer something Dartmouth can’t.
Some students may not feel comfortable seeking mental health help from an institution that controls their lives and futures in many ways. If they ask for advice, is that part of their college records? Who has access to that information at Dartmouth?
“These things shouldn’t be obstacles for students who need help,” Osmun said.
According to the counseling center’s website, it adheres to a “confidentiality policy that respects privacy and promotes better health care.”
But the counseling center continues, “If we think you are at high risk of self-harm, we may contact other providers, college administrators or health and safety, other public safety departments, or your family.
Because of this, some students “may not want to go through the Dartmouth system,” Williamson said.
West Central did not give up. Williamson recently spoke with an administrator in the Office of Student Life. He also visited his old fraternity where he was a mentor.
“The college is moving in the right direction, but there’s more it can do,” Williamson said.
In response to questions about Dartmouth not taking over West Central’s aid offerings, college spokeswoman Diana Lawrence emailed Friday, “We have been looking into the mobile crisis services offered at West Central.
Dartmouth recently declared October 21st “Caring Day.” Classes will be suspended to allow time for “friendship, learning and comfort.”
At the very least, Dartmouth should invite West Central on campus that day to share the information.
The goal, Williamson said, is to give students “as many resources as they can.”
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The 24/7 New Hampshire Rapid Response Crisis Line can be reached by calling or texting 833-710-6477. Go to www.nh988.com to chat online.
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