Governor Declares September As Suicide Prevention And Highlights Improvements To NH’s Mental Health System

Earlier this month, Gov. Sununu led a press conference attended by leaders of the NH Suicide Prevention Council and the National Alliance on Mental Illness-New Hampshire (NAMI-NH) to recognize September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. The Governor and leaders of NH’s service organizations lauded the progress the state has made in improving NH’s mental health system, highlighting the creation of Rapid Response mobile crisis teams.

Rapid Response teams, made up of mental health clinicians and peers, can be called anywhere a person is experiencing a mental health or substance misuse crisis or has declared they are considering suicide. The Rapid Response teams, first implemented in January 2022, provide an alternative to calling 911 – especially when a police response may result in an escalation of a crisis, or could delay the person’s ability to receive appropriate treatment. 

While there were plenty of statistics and information about suicide shared, it was the testimony of a young man who contacted the Rapid Response line at www.988nh.com that really resonated with press conference attendees.

Joshua Christopher Fontaine, 25, shared his experience when he recently went through his own mental health crisis.  Despite his strong feelings, he was hesitant to reach out for help. “My mind was filled with suicidal thoughts, feelings of being alone and depressed,” he said. “Questions raced around in my head; I wondered, should I use the new NH crisis line– what if someone needs it more than I do? Am I wasting their time?”

He eventually decided to use the crisis line’s chat function – one of several ways of reaching the crisis line, along with calls or texts – to ask for help. He said he communicated with a “very nice person” who discussed the situation with Joshua, setting a tone where the troubled man felt heard and empowered. “They asked if it was OK if they came to my house.  I replied that it was. When I asked if there was going to be a police presence, I was assured the police would not be sent. Rather, they said they would send a mental health evaluation team. I was told I would receive a phone call from the mental health evaluators when they were on the way to my home.”

Joshua recalled that there were many points in his conversation with the 2-person response team when the mental health workers proactively asked his consent and advice. It made him feel like he was “part of my treatment team.” . “I explained my suicidal thoughts, feelings of being alone and depressed. It was then decided that I should go to the hospital at least for the night and be re-evaluated in the morning.,” Joshua said. “I was given the choice of going to one of two different hospitals. At this point, I brought my mom in and asked her to make the decision for me. I felt like even though I had deferred to my mom for this decision,I had a true say in what was going to happen and where I was going to go.” 

His reception at the hospital further reassured him. “At the hospital, they knew who I was and why I was there. I felt so relieved I did not have to tell my story over again.”

Susan Stearns, Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-NH, thanked Joshua for telling his story. She said that prior to the creation of the Rapid Response Access Point, individuals in crisis, or their loved ones seeking help, lacked options. “These families had to face the choice to call 911, and had the fear of an encounter going absolutely wrong, or often that the response would lead to a family member being led away from home in shackles.” 

Governor Sununu said that the implementation of the Rapid Response teams in New Hampshire, along with the nationwide 988 crisis line, have combined to improve access to mental health services. Jennifer O’Higgins, a senior official in the Behavioral Health Division of the NH Department of Health and Human Services, says the creation of these new channels for seeking help represent a “transformation” of the mental health system for the state. 

One significant aspect of the state’s Rapid Response Access system is that it creates multiple access points, O’Higgins said. In addition to a phone number, there is the capability to chat or text, which are preferred channels for many young people. National data shows that 14 to 17-year-olds are most likely to reach out for help via text, O’Higgins said.