Montana communities are providing more help and hope for people struggling with mental health.
The efforts are based on a locally driven system called Crisis Now. One part is the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The Montana Healthcare Foundation says 88% of calls in 2025 were resolved over the phone. For people needing in-person help, Mobile Crisis Response Teams can get involved. In Helena, behavioral specialists respond with law enforcement or on their own.
Kayla Morris, community-based and crisis care delivery manager at St. Peter's Health in Helena, manages the program.
"Our goal is to be out the door within two minutes and headed in the direction of wherever the crisis is," Morris explained. "We will meet people on the sides of the road, we'll meet them in their home, we'll meet them at schools, and we'll meet them anywhere where they are in the community where they have a need."
Teams are available 24/7, 365 days a year. Morris stressed the goal is to de-escalate crises and free up law enforcement officers to focus on public safety. The Montana Healthcare Foundation said last year, there were 1,400 fewer jail stays and emergency room visits in the state as a result of the teams' work.
The third part of Crisis Now is providing places for people to go. At least five crisis centers operate in Montana, including Journey Home in Helena, which reopened in April.
Heather Irby, Lewis and Clark County director for Many Rivers Whole Health, which now owns and operates Journey Home as a walk-in outpatient clinic, said it currently offers stays of less than 24 hours and will offer longer stays in the future.
"It really operates as kind of a mental health emergency department so that people can come here and redirect from the emergency department who are so very busy with more of the physical health," Irby outlined. "It's another location for people to go for that support."
Scott Malloy, policy director for the Montana Healthcare Foundation, said there are plans for six more centers. He acknowledged Crisis Now should not always be the first option and suggested people start with those who already know them, like family, friends, healthcare providers and clergy members.
"It would be disingenuous to say everyone should call 988 if you're having a problem," Malloy pointed out. "988 is there and we should be using it, but we should be exhausting those other natural supports that sometimes aren't as obvious when we're in crisis."
Malloy added Crisis Now is operating or being developed in 39 counties and four tribal nations in Montana, with communities choosing mental health solutions to best fit their needs.