TULSA, Okla. – Family & Children’s Services (F&CS) announced Jan. 11 it has been named a member of the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and will be responsible for answering calls to the national line from the Tulsa County area.

The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is a free, 24-hour hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. F&CS will become part of a network of more than 140 crisis centers nationwide. The national network of local crisis centers provides crisis counseling and mental health referrals day and night.

“We are very proud to be part of the National Suicide Prevention Hotline,” said Stacie Barnett, program director for COPES, the F&CS crisis hotline and mobile team. “It’s so important to be able to assist these callers on a local level with the emotional support and care they need. We have firsthand knowledge of our resources and the ability to mobilize when needed to assist individuals in crisis.”

With this announcement, F&CS becomes the first member in Tulsa and the second in Oklahoma to assist the national line. Heartline 211 in Oklahoma City is also a member. Calls from Tulsa County to the national hotline will be routed to the F&CS local COPES hotline. The COPES hotline receives more than 6,000 mental health crisis calls per year, one in three of which is related to suicide.

Through this partnership, F&CS will now have access to national standards and training, in-call resources and member center development. The nonprofit will be able to communicate on a regular basis with other crisis centers across the nation to further its knowledge to aid the citizens of Tulsa County.

The COPES program also includes a mobile crisis intervention team that provides 24-hour rapid response, stabilization and intervention for children, teens and adults in crisis who have thoughts of suicide, harming themselves, hurting others or having feelings of being out of control. Those experiencing a traumatic event, extreme distress, emotional or psychiatric crisis or behavioral disturbances are stabilized and linked to ongoing care.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is administered by Link2Health Solutions, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mental Health Association of New York City. Lifeline’s grant is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).