DILG: Mental health response to be included in unified 911 hotline

The unified 911 national emergency hotline, set to be launched by August or September, will include a help desk for mental health concerns, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Monday during a press briefing in Quezon City.

Remulla said trained counselors from the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) will be deployed to provide psychosocial support.

“Mayroon kaming counselors na kung may nararamdaman ang ating kabataan, o alam n’yong may nararamdaman kayo, pwedeng tawagan at mayroong pwedeng rumesponde (We have counselors who, if our youth are feeling something, or you know you are feeling something, can call and someone can respond),” he said.

Remulla noted that one desk in the 911 command center will be designated for mental health intervention.

“Out of 50,000 calls a day ang capacity, we anticipate maybe 2% tungkol sa mental health ang tatawag diyan (will call about mental health issues),” he said.

He added that the government plans to acquire more communication equipment, police vehicles, and fire trucks to boost the response time of first responders.

“Kapag operate namin, magiging dispatch center yung mga LGUs (the local government units will be the dispatch centers once we start operating),” Remulla said.

The 911 system will also respond to reports on crime, health emergencies, fire incidents, and other suspicious activity. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/BAP, GMA Integrated News