HHS Secretary visits Portland to talk 'nation's mental health crisis'

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra is making a stop in Portland Thursday as part of a visit to the Pacific Northwest to address what Biden administration officials called solutions to "the nation's mental health crisis."

The secretary is touring a non-profit crisis call center in South Portland and Portland Community College's lab for medical diagnostic imaging before heading north to Washington. Becerra's trip to the region is, in part, to promote the billions in federal funding included in the American Rescue Plan for mental health and addiction resources.

The crisis call center, Lines for Life, hosts a 24-7 hotline for people struggling with addiction, suicidal thoughts and other mental health issues.

Officials said it will play a key role in transitioning the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to its new three-digit form, which was designed to reduce the strain on hospitals' emergency departments, increase free access to counselors and make calling for help during a mental health crisis more like calling 911. On July 16, the national line's 800-273-8255 number will be replaced with a shorter dialing code, 988.

Lines for Life's youth service also recently received federal funding, and Becerra is meeting with its teenage volunteers who answer calls from other teens in crisis. Gov. Kate Brown, along with Oregon's U.S. congressmen, Reps. Earl Blumenauer (OR-3) and Kurt Schrader (OR-5), joined Becerra at the event to discuss the struggles children and teens have endured during the pandemic.

Julie Scholz with the American Academy of Pediatrics said the old system of screening and identifying at risk teens isn’t working anymore. Rather, she said working directly with parents and schools is more effective, especially fully staffing school mental health programs because of how much time students spend there.

Becerra told attendees "we are losing thousands of children each year because we can’t reach them" and said Lines for Life is one of the organizations that can help youth in peril before it's too late.

Students at PCC are slated to show Becerra the imaging lab where they study how to diagnose medical conditions with procedures like PET scans.

Officials said he will discuss the administration's "commitment to strengthening the health care workforce pipeline and the importance of diversifying the health care workforce to better serve all communities."

KOIN 6 Reporter Brandon Thompson contributed to this article.

If you or someone you know is going through a mental health crisis,
Lines for Life is available around-the-clock at 800.273.8255.
The Lines for Life Youth Line is 877.968.8491.