POUGHKEEPSIE – Dutchess County’s Helpline, which has been providing professional mental health crisis services for decades, is one of the current 13 regional call centers in the state handling the new national 988 suicide prevention lifeline.
County Executive Marcus Molinaro said the Dutchess center is handling 988 calls in three area counties.
“For those dialing 988 in Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan, those professionals are Dutchess County Helpline staff. These are folks who have been doing this sort of work and we’ve invested a great amount of resource in the Dutchess County Helpline for decades,” he said. “We are the regional hub for three counties for the residents dialing 988.”
Molinaro said Dutchess is in talks with other area counties about handling their suicide hotline calls as well.
