Woburn Residents and Schools Now Have Access to a Free Mental Health Referral Hotline

WOBURN, MA — Residents citywide now have access to a free mental health referral service, according to Woburn School Committee member Ellen Crowley.

During the Summer, the Woburn Public Schools and the City of Woburn signed a $12,000 per-year agreement with William James College's Interface program, which connects all residents to mental health professionals which can provide information to residents and connect them to resources in the area.

The program will connect those in need with a professional with information on available doctors and counselors in the area, as well as additional resources, according to Crowley.

"A barrier to mental health treatment is availability and having a standard way of accessing [treatment]," Crowley said.

The program also allows school officials to connect parents of a student in need to the referral service, or to refer a student who may be showing symptoms of mental health issues themselves.

"If a child is having a hard time, a lot of time the behaviors manifest themselves as school," Crowley added. "Now we have another tool in the tool belt to get that student the help he or she needs."

Residents across Woburn will be able to use the program free of charge, and each person that calls gets approximately a 20-minute phone call, said Crowley. The program is not intended to to be a suicide hotline, according to Crowley.

"It is not intended to be an emergency hotline," Crowley said."It's supposed to be in place so we never get to the point of being suicidal."

According to a report from the Daily Times Chronicle, nearly one in five WMHS students reported being bullied in school during the past 12 months during a Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Further results of the survey are set to be revealed later this month, according to the results.

Crowley also mentioned that school adjustment counselors and social-emotional professionals were spending a bulk of their time trying to find outside resources for students.

"Instead of spending hours to help a student, now there is one place,"Crowley added."Now there is going to be more availability and it will free up some of the social-emotional adjustment counselor's time."

The toll-free helpline number (888-244-6843) is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can also access online resources by visiting the William James Interface Program's website.

Image by zephra via Morguefile