If you need to talk, or if you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. America’s new national mental health crisis line—988—goes live on July 16. The three-digit hotline is supposed to make it easier for people struggling with addiction, suicide, and
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available. Contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-8255 or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. HOUSTON — Jennifer Battle is open to just about anything to find people to answer the phones at her Houston-area crisis line. “It’s
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Nancy’s ex-husband had been sober for almost a decade when the pandemic hit. Not long into lockdown, she said his behavior changed. Nancy quickly tied it to drinking. “He would basically sleep all day and be up all night,” she said. Side Effects Public Media is only using Nancy’s first
SPRINGFIELD – When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Barbara Allen’s life became more complicated overnight. Allen, 39, lives in Springfield, Illinois, where she cares for people who have disabilities and live in group homes. As an essential worker, she never stopped working full time. Then schools closed and she was forced to navigate virtual learning with
PAXTON, IL – Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are reporting symptoms of depression, according to a recent study in the journal JAMA Network Open. The study finds those with lower incomes and high exposure to coronavirus stressors are at greatest risk. In rural Ford County, more people have reached out for help
Communities across the Midwest have been devastated by the opioid epidemic. But there’s still a lot of misunderstanding about how opioids affect our…
Jenn Glaser lie in bed with a severe pain in her right hip. In the last few days a large abscess had developed under her skin–an infection from injecting drugs. After six years of heroin addiction, Glaser had had many of these but always managed to take care of them on her own. She avoided
It was a scheduling mishap that led Kourtnaye Sturgeon to help save someone’s life. About four months ago, Sturgeon drove to downtown Indianapolis for a…