{"id":5100,"date":"2025-04-16T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=5100"},"modified":"2025-04-16T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T09:00:00","slug":"a-call-for-comfort-brought-the-police-instead-now-the-solution-is-in-danger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=5100","title":{"rendered":"A Call for Comfort Brought the Police Instead. Now the Solution Is in Danger."},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/em>If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting \u201c988.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Overcome by worries, Lynette Isbell dialed a mental health hotline in April 2022. She wanted to talk to someone about her midlife troubles: divorce, an empty nest, and the demands of caring for aging parents with dementia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not want to keep burdening my family and friends with my problems,\u201d Isbell said.<\/p>\n

But she didn\u2019t find the sympathetic ear she was hoping for on the other end. Frustrated, she hung up. Little did she know ending that call would set off events she would regret.<\/p>\n

Police arrived at her home in Terre Haute, Indiana, handcuffed her, and had her committed to a hospital, records show, resulting in more than $12,000 in hospital charges.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole thing was an absolute, utter, traumatic nightmare,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Isbell\u2019s call for help represented the need for a new approach to crisis calls just as the nation was readying to flip the switch to a revamped response system for mental health. Using just three digits \u2014 988 \u2014 people could call or text for help from anywhere at any time starting in July 2022. Federal officials viewed the launch of 988 \u201cas the linchpin<\/a>\u201d to reenvision the mental health crisis system. The idea was to reduce the reliance on police and the burden on emergency rooms, while eliminating the stigma of seeking help.<\/p>\n

But recent federal funding and staffing cuts undermine the future of the 988 program and threaten to erase progress made in Indiana and elsewhere, mental health advocates said.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration cut staffing at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the federal office that oversees 988, in recent weeks. It also ended $1 billion of its grants that a number of states relied on this year to help fund their 988 systems, said Stephanie Pasternak, state affairs director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness<\/a>. While a judge temporarily paused grant cuts<\/a><\/a> for 23 states that contested them, the trims to other states \u2014 including Indiana \u2014 have moved forward.<\/p>\n

Between the SAMHSA cuts and potential reductions to Medicaid<\/a>, another crucial funding stream for these services, Pasternak and others are concerned about what this means for 988\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

Any disruption to federal funding streams is \u201cgravely impactful,\u201d said Zoe Frantz, CEO of the Indiana Council of Community Mental Health Centers<\/a>. \u201cWe have put a lot of time, talent, and treasure \u2014 from the state to providers \u2014 in trying to build the system,\u201d Frantz said. \u201cWe can\u2019t go back.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Isbell hung up her call, a member of the Suicide Prevention Hotline, the crisis line formerly available, phoned the Vigo County Sheriff\u2019s Office and told a dispatcher Isbell was \u201cthinking of committing suicide,\u201d according to the sheriff\u2019s report obtained by KFF Health News.<\/p>\n

Years later, Isbell maintains she never said this. \u201cI\u2019ve never been actively suicidal.\u201d<\/p>\n

But two officers drove to Isbell\u2019s home.<\/p>\n

When they arrived, Isbell was sitting on her back porch on a sunny day with trees just starting to bud. The officer\u2019s report alleged she admitted to thinking about driving her car into a tree, wanting doctor-assisted suicide, and fantasizing about a semitruck hitting her.<\/p>\n

She contends active suicidal ideation with a plan is different than the overwhelmed feelings she had that day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like a childhood game of telephone, only not at all funny,\u201d she said. What she said became distorted and left her no recourse.<\/p>\n

The officers walked her to a squad car, where they handcuffed her before transporting her to Terre Haute Regional Hospital, according to dashcam video obtained from a public records request. Neighbors watched as she was taken away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why I needed to be handcuffed,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was demoralizing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vigo County Sheriff\u2019s Office did not respond to requests for comment about Isbell\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

Isbell said being hospitalized against her wishes humiliated her and forced her to battle confusing medical bills for months. An itemized bill shows the hospital charged $12,772 for her overnight stay. After insurance, Isbell was on the hook for roughly $2,800. By comparison, a one-night stay in the presidential suite at the new Terre Haute Casino Resort is $2,471. Terre Haute Regional Hospital spokesperson Ann Marie Foote said Isbell\u2019s bill was \u201cdiscounted down\u201d to $1,400.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur highest priority is always the safety and well-being of patients,\u201d Foote said.<\/p>\n

According to Isbell\u2019s medical records, doctors there said \u201cshe was very stressed\u201d and \u201cjust wanted to speak to someone\u201d and reiterated \u201cshe was not suicidal.\u201d They said her anxiety \u201cis increased and made worse by being in here.\u201d<\/p>\n

She had \u201canxiety\u201d and a \u201cdepressed mood,\u201d and, according to medical records signed by a psychiatrist there, \u201cshe does not meet current criteria for involuntary hospitalization.\u201d She was discharged the next day.<\/p>\n

Upset by how she was treated, she contacted 988, the sheriff\u2019s office, and the hospital.<\/p>\n

In response to KFF Health News\u2019 questions about Isbell\u2019s experience, Michele Holtkamp, a spokesperson at the time for Indiana\u2019s Family and Social Services Administration, said that before the launch of 988, \u201cthe state did not have oversight of individual crisis lines and how they responded.\u201d<\/p>\n

After 988 began, Isbell received a follow-up email from an executive with Mental Health America, introducing her to the director of Indiana\u2019s 988 hotline, Kara Biro.<\/p>\n

\u201cI shared your story with her and we agree that we would love to get you to help with a training video,\u201d wrote Brandi Christiansen, CEO of Mental Health America-Wabash Valley Region<\/a>. She explained it would provide workers an opportunity to understand the real-life implications an \u201coutcall can have on a human being.\u201d The video has yet to happen, Isbell said.<\/p>\n

The sheriff\u2019s department also asked for her input to improve the process, she said.<\/p>\n

Isbell saw those as signs of a turnaround. For mental health leaders in Indiana, 988 represented a \u201cspringboard to transform and build<\/a>\u201d a new response system, according to a 2022 Indiana Behavioral Health Commission report. Too often, the report said, Indiana\u2019s \u201cineffective and inefficient\u201d system had relied heavily on police and emergency rooms.<\/p>\n

Before 988, the state hotline also relied almost entirely on volunteers, complicating efforts to standardize responses, said Jay Chaudhary, a former director of Indiana\u2019s Division of Mental Health and Addiction, who led the state\u2019s transition to 988.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen somebody makes the really brave step to seek help with mental health care, that system better be ready to catch them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Today, Indiana ranks among the 10 states with the highest 988 answer rates, a sign it can handle the demand, said Laurel Stine<\/a>, chief advocacy and policy officer with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.<\/p>\n

In Indiana, behavioral health professionals now lead the response via mobile crisis teams, not law enforcement, such as the officers who handcuffed Isbell.<\/p>\n

As of July, mobile crisis teams were available to 4.8 million people living in 65 of Indiana\u2019s 92 counties, reaching roughly 71% of residents, according to a 2024 report<\/a> from the behavioral health commission. In the first half of last year, mobile crisis teams were dispatched 3,080 times for help. Law enforcement officers were involved in about 1% of those cases and roughly 10% resulted in a trip to the emergency room, according to the report.<\/p>\n

Similar efforts have occurred nationwide since the 2022 launch. The 988 hotline received 4.8 million calls, texts, and chats during its first year, which is roughly nine times a minute<\/a>, according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration data.<\/p>\n

But the federal government has terminated numerous grants earmarked for Indiana and other states to tackle mental health and substance use issues. Still, SAMHSA spokesperson Danielle Bennett said the 988 hotline is a \u201ccritical function\u201d and that the federal government \u201cwill never compromise\u201d protecting people experiencing a crisis. The hotline, Bennett said, \u201ccontinues daily, life-saving work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Indiana agency tasked with overseeing 988 had more than $98 million in SAMHSA grants but received 73% of that as of March 24, when the grants were terminated, according to a government list of cuts<\/a>. That leaves Indiana $26 million short.<\/p>\n

Some federal grants were passed through to local organizations, including one group that received grant money for \u201cmobile crisis units,\u201d according to an online grant summary<\/a>. In a statement, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration spokesperson James Vaughn confirmed it received notice of the terminated SAMHSA grants but declined to provide details other than to say it is \u201cworking to minimize the impact to Hoosiers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isbell hopes the 988 option doesn\u2019t disappear for those who need a hand, not handcuffs.<\/p>\n

She dealt with the fallout of that fateful call for a long time. After more than a year, she said, she paid the $1,400 bill to put the ordeal behind her.<\/p>\n

KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF<\/a>.<\/p>\n

USE OUR CONTENT<\/h3>\n

This story can be republished for free (details<\/a>).<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting \u201c988.\u201d Overcome by worries, Lynette Isbell dialed a mental health hotline in April 2022. She wanted to talk to someone about her midlife troubles: divorce, an empty nest, and the demands…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5100"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}