There’s been a rise in mental health issues globally since the start of the pandemic, including in Minnesota. A recent Hennepin County survey shows more residents reported experiencing frequent mental health distress in 2022 compared to 2018.

“We’re seeing people report an increase in mental distress,” said Stephanie Abel, a senior administrator with Hennepin County Public Health. “[During the pandemic] we all experienced social isolation, we experienced fear, anxiety because we didn’t know what was happening, so I think that that is just what’s coming out right now.”

The County is adding staff to its mobile crisis response team, Cope, in response to an increase in calls.

“Cope is really to prevent a crisis from escalating,” said Abel. “To have some kind of intervention before it escalates to needing to call 911 or before somebody needs to go to the hospital.”

According to Abel, the team received an average of 4,303 calls per month in 2022. It’s a big jump from 2019 when there were an average of 2,868 calls per month.

“It’s more complex than ever,” said Kalyn Bassett, a senior psychiatric social worker, and Cope crisis responder. “A lot of times there’s family things going on; there’s school dynamics, work, chronic illness.”

The program has three teams: a call center, a stabilization team, and a responder team.

The call center staff works to identify the crisis, provide a listening ear, and identify what resources the caller needs.

The stabilization team helps connect the individual, or their loved ones, with long-term services such as therapy or case management. It receives both internal referrals from Cope calls and external referrals, which might come from hospitals, clinics, or schools.

The responder team goes out into the field to provide in-person assessments and support.

“We just want people to feel supported,” said Bassett, who explained she responds to every call with an open mind. “Being aware you don’t know who is on the other end […] and you don’t know where they’re at in life.”

The teams are available to talk 24/7, 365 days per year.

“We have staff that are diverse, we have people that are multilingual and multicultural on the staff,” said Jihan Ali, the administrative manager for Cope. “You’re on the phone, you’re out in the community, you’re working with people that are struggling and may be in crisis.”

The increased call volume is a lingering effect of the pandemic and the isolation it caused, according to Ali.

“That just exacerbated whatever they had going on, whether the stress or the mental health symptoms,” said Ali.

During the pandemic, Cope started doing virtual assessments. As a result, the amount of time staff spends on a call has increased from 5 to 10 minutes up to 45 minutes to an hour.

The Hennepin County Commission approved adding six new full-time positions for Cope this spring to help address the high demand for the program. 

“The numbers showed the need is there,” said Ali. “We don’t want people on hold. We also don’t want to pull back from sending people out into the community.”

There are about 55 people on the Cope team. According to Bassett, they collaborate with each other to ensure each caller receives the help they need.

“Every time you have a little success where they said they felt better at the end of the call, or you connected them to therapy or something, those are the ones that stick with you the most,” said Bassett. “They keep you going.”

For more information about Cope, click here.

To contact the Cope team, call 612-596-1223.