MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris made a visit to the Memphis Crisis Center, the local redirection for Memphians who contact the national suicide and crisis line, 988.
Mike Labonte, the executive director of the Memphis Crisis Center, said they’re currently receiving 25% more calls than they did this time last year.
“One of the things I always like to tell people is your life is at least worth a phone call,” Labonte said.
With staff on site 24 hours, seven days a week, community members get catered resources to assist them with anything they’re dealing with.
“I mean it can be teenage pregnancy. It can be anything. It’s not just suicide,” Terry Barns said. “Then we can see those numbers, we can see what issues are trending in the community. Interesting enough, seven years ago teen pregnancy was trending in our community. So what we then can do is target our in-services and our volunteers toward the particular issues in our own county that’s rising at any given time.”
Mayor Lee Harris said “it’s really a place where anyone in crisis can get a lead on the kind of help that they need... So, we learned a lot, we’re raising awareness and we just hope everyone who has a family member that’s under strain considers this service and they consider talking to their family member about getting the help they need.”
Labonte said the center has received nearly 1,000 calls since the 988-line launched in July.
“That’s another reason for the calls,” Labonte said. “You know, we had the pandemic, then we had the economic fallout, then we had the political uncertainty, and those things combined and made people’s lives very stressful.”
Mayor Harris insists the crisis center is crucial to the community in many ways.
“We’re trying to raise awareness, trying to learn more and trying to get the information out. So it was a great visit with Mike and his team,” Mayor Harris said. “They’ve been here for decades really serving this community.”
Mayor Harris and his team left the center feeling grateful for their work. If you’re in crisis or just need someone to talk to, call 988.