MPR News Staff

The mental health, addiction and abuse helpline Crisis Connection is shutting down July 14, ending a service that took some 50,000 calls last year.

It had connected Minnesotans with local psychiatrists and counselors — as well as first-responders and emergency rooms — for nearly 50 years.

“There isn’t another another call center to pick these up. So we’ll be encouraging people to call 911, to go to the local, nearest hospital emergency department, or to contact their local mobile crisis team, if they have one,” said Matt Eastwood, CEO of Canvas Health, which operates Crisis Connection.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline that Crisis Connection operates will also be going away next week. Its calls will be routed elsewhere, Eastwood said. Crisis Connection callers will reach a voicemail message starting Friday.

So far this year, the suicide prevention line has taken 16,000 calls, he said, while the Crisis Connection line has had about 20,000.

Crisis Connection has seen a “significant” jump in the number of calls this year, Eastwood said.

When a Minnesotan would call Crisis Connection, a counselor would first conduct a risk-assessment before recommending the caller for care, or contacting first responders for them.

“We’re really there for the crisis, not the long-term counseling,” Eastwood said.

It’s closing for financial reasons: overall losses, and insufficient funds to pay counselors.