Interior Health has teamed up with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) to streamline crisis line services across the region.

The new Interior Crisis Line Network has an all new phone number, 1-888-353-CARE (2273) that will serve all callers. Calls will still be answered locally right here in Cranbrook, but should the line be busy or go unanswered, it will be forwarded to another centre in the region.

"If you only have one line worker and you're on the line, it will bounce to someone else," said Nancy Reid, who was involved in the co-ordination of the network and is the administrator of women's services for the East Kootenay Branch of the CMHA in Cranbrook.

Chris Houston, practice lead for mental health and substance use programs for Interior Health, said the program went live on February 6 and will ensure all callers have a chance to speak with someone when they need it the most.

"The crisis line will always be available," he said.

The following crisis lines have been networked: the East Kootenay Crisis Line, the Kootenay Boundary Crisis Line, the Cariboo Chilcotin Crisis Line, the Kelowna Community Resource Centre and the North Okanagan PIN (People in Need) Crisis Line.

The B.C. Ministry of Health said in a recent release that the same standard of care will be observed across the new network.

"The Interior Crisis Line Network is manned by trained people who live in and understand the challenges, opportunities and culture of the Southern Interior," said Bryan Redford, IH West community director. "We've also worked closely with our Aboriginal Health Program to ensure that culturally appropriate intervention options are available and known to all crisis line workers."

For Cranbrook, that means anyone calling and unable to get through will be forwarded onto Kelowna, where an operator will have the very information available to them at the Cranbrook office. A caller from Kelowna will be forwarded to Cranbrook if the line there is busy. That means there will be 24-hour service for those needing the crisis lines.

Reid said each centre has helped each other out by collecting information on the services in their communities.

"We've all prepared a small database of services," she said.

The network will allow the volunteers and staff of CMHA in Cranbrook to work smaller shifts, because they know their callers will still receive the same standard of service. Reid said the job will be a much less onerous one for her fellow staff and volunteers. The Cranbrook crisis line is a busy one. Reid said they often have repeat callers and are not always used for emergencies.

"We get at least 10 calls a day," she said.

Operators are trained to educate the caller on services if they need it, deal with true emergency situations, provide support for substance abuse issues, or to just lend an ear to someone with no one to talk to.

"Sometimes you just have a bad day," she said.

Houston agrees, often the crisis line is used by people who are simply overwhelmed.

"Most people who call are just going through stressful life events," he said.

The service is very valuable in the community, Reid said, and IH has affirmed its support by creating the network. Without a crisis line, the only other place to receive the help that is dolled out over the phone 24-hours a day, is at the emergency room.

"One of the things Interior Health tells us, is that you keep people out of the hospital, because people have someone to talk to," she said.

Volunteers are always needed to man the phones at the Cranbrook office. Anyone interested should contact Laurie Reed at the CMHA office at (250) 426-5222. Volunteers receive crisis line training and spend time observing calls before they step up to the phones themselves.

To access the crisis line, call 1-888-353-CARE. The old Cranbrook local number will be phased out in the coming months, but will still be operational for a time. Houston said they want to make sure everyone who uses the system knows about the change over before they completely shut down the old lines.

"We just don't want to lose anybody in the mix," he said.

IH contributed $74,200 in one-time start up funding for the network, and the lines will receive $437,000 in annual funding. Crisis lines in B.C. provide 3.7 million minutes of support each year, according to the B.C. Ministry of Health.

Anyone with questions on the new service can contact Houston at his Cranbrook office at (250) 420-2276, or contact CMHA at (250) 426-5222.