September is Suicide Prevention Month, but Wasatch Behavioral Health works to prevent suicide and other mental health crises year-round. The behavioral health center’s services help residents every day and the team would like to get the word out about help that is available.

“Our two major crisis services we have are our Mobile Crisis Outreach Team and the Receiving Center, which are both services available 24/7,” said Laura Oaks, program manager. “Both services are also at no cost to the consumer. I think utilizing a service that has a cost to it while in crisis and having to deal with the bills that come in afterward can, at times, lead to increased crises for people.”

The Mobile Crisis Outreach Team, for both youth and adults, is dispatched through 988, the national suicide and crisis lifeline. Members of local law enforcement help to stabilize someone in crisis where they are so they can avoid being taken to a hospital emergency room or a higher level of care. According to Oaks, the team dispatches in pairs, including one licensed mental health therapist and one peer support. A peer support is someone with life experience with mental health or substance abuse issues that can help relate to clients on a more personal basis.

During this last fiscal year, July 2023 to June 2024, the team responded to 836 calls in Utah County.

“We have been able to help 72% of our calls remain at home or return home from where they were without needing to go to a higher level of care,” Oaks said. “Twelve percent of our calls that needed a higher level of care were able to be taken to our Receiving Center to also avoid an emergency room visit.”

The Receiving Center is for people 18 years of age and over. It is a safe place that people can walk into 24 hours a day to get help with any mental health or substance use crisis. People can stay up to 24 hours or go home whenever they are feeling more stable.

“We try to wrap resources around the person as well as give them time and space away from their crisis to aid with stabilization,” Oaks said.

The Wasatch Behavioral Health Receiving Center, 1175 E. 300 North, Provo, has been open for a little more than three years. During the last fiscal year, the center had 1,936 admissions with a reported 1,768 of those avoiding an emergency room visit because they were able to access help at the center instead.

In addition to the receiving center, there are Vantage Point youth crisis centers located in both Provo and American Fork. These are homelike facilities that are designed to be safe places for teenagers. The facilities provide short-term shelter, crisis intervention and family counseling.

Oaks really wants people to know that they don’t have to wait until they’re in a full crisis before they can seek help.

“At Wasatch, we want people to seek help prior to things becoming a crisis so we can help stabilize quickly to try to avoid crises for people,” she said. “Within our system, people are able to define their own crisis. We have a whole myriad of people who seek services, from college students who are struggling with adjusting to being on their own or dealing with roommates or relationships to people experiencing significant mental health or substance use issues. We don’t want anyone feeling like they need to wait until they’re experiencing suicidal thoughts to get help.”

When experiencing a mental health crisis, such as suicidal thoughts, the Mobile Crisis Outreach Team can be accessed through calling or texting 988. To find out more about the Receiving Center, call 801-852-2131.