New 'Crisis Now' hotline helping hundreds in first month of launch

Dayton, Ohio (WKEF) -- Montgomery County Alcohol Drugs and Mental Health Services, also known as ADAMHS, is seeing big interaction with their new help hotline.

ADAMHS launched a new resource hotline Jan. 1 called “Crisis Now” for people struggling with mental health or drug abuse emergencies. So far, it’s been a success within Montgomery County.

“It’s going very, very well,” said Tina Rezash Rogal, director, Strategic Initiatives and Communication for Montgomery County ADAMHS Board. "We have received over 400 phone calls.”

The Crisis Now hotline number is 833-580-2255 and is available 24/7.

“It’s someone to call, someone who can go to you, and then a place to go should you need it,” said Rezash Rogal.

The community response has been so well taken the call center is already working on expanding.

“We are doing hiring at a very regular basis, staffing up the call center and making sure we also have enough mobile crisis response teams trained,” said Rezash Rogal. “So when folks in the community call and need us to send a team out to them we have plenty of people on-hand to go out and take care of them.”

While the two-year COVID-19 pandemic has created more challenges for people dealing with mental health or drug abuse issues, seasonal affective disorder during the winter can become another problem. ADAMHS recommends fighting seasonal depression by staying connected, and calling friends and family. Bundle up and take a walk outside, get some fresh air and sunlight and cool it on social media scrolling. ADAMHS website digitaldetox.com has even more tips on clearing your mind from the web.

“What’s happening in this time of COVID where people are trying to physically distance, you don’t even have the same connections you would have had two years ago prior to COVID," Rezash Rogal added.

ADAMHS will receive a detailed report from Crisis Now mid-February to learn more data regarding where the calls are coming from within Montgomery County and what services are being requested.

Again, the Crisis Now hotline is 833-580-2255.

Click here for more details about available resources.