An innovative mental health resource, TXT4Life, has recently added coverage to Isanti County.
TXT4Life, a service of Canvas Health, is a suicide prevention resource for residents in Minnesota. Users in a personal crisis use text messages, rather than the standard hotline services, as a way to receive free and confidential help. Counselors and volunteers at TXT4Life headquarters in Richfield respond to users and discuss issues such as general mental health, personal relationships, and suicide.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death of people ages 15-24 in Minnesota and the ninth leading cause of death in Minnesota overall. The program is targeted to teen and young adults but is available to anyone in the covered counties.
Teens don’t always feel comfortable calling in and talking to someone; they would rather their conversations be anonymous and private, which is exactly what TXT4Life provides. To connect with a counselor, users simply have to text “Life” to 61222.
“No one has to know they’re having the conversation,” said Eric McClellan, TXT4Life program supervisor.
TXT4Life began in 2011 with minimal coverage in the state and was only available from noon to 3 a.m. As of Sept. 1, TXT4Life is available to use 24 hours a day. “Our goal is to be statewide as soon as possible. Currently we are serving 39 counties within Minnesota with a strategic plan to make sure our efforts are most effective,” said McClellan. “Before, we couldn’t respond when we were out of the office. Now we’re able to talk exactly when they need it.”
Suicide can be a taboo but important topic that people are often scared to talk about.
“Starting the dialogue can be a real challenge. People are nervous if we talk about it, it will be put in people’s heads,” said McClellan. However, it is actually proven that talking about suicide to teens and young adults can reduce the number of incidents of suicide. “We want to break down the barrier to be able to talk about it openly.”
All certified counselors working for TXT4Life are required to have a bachelor’s degree in mental health and all have intense suicide awareness training. Many have higher degrees as well. These counselors are able to have 500 conversations with users at a time using computer software. The most common user demographic of TXT4Life is 14-year-old females, whereas call-in hotlines are used more by middle-aged males.
McClellan hopes to continue to expand and eventually offer full coverage state wide. Currently, coverage is added based on the amount of resources available per capita; rural areas have substantially fewer resources in place, so Canvas Health is working to add TXT4Life to those areas first. McClellan also wants to be able to expand to the demographics that are currently hard to reach: adult males and those living on reservations.
Last year, TXT4Life held 5,600 text sessions. The goal this year is 10,000 total text sessions.
TXT4Life thrives on its volunteers. To learn how you can get involved, visit txt4life.org.
For more information about TXT4Life in Isanti County or to set up a information session, contact regional coordinator Lindsay Aijala at laijala@canvashealth.org.
And if you know someone who is struggling, don’t hesitate to seek help.