by Christopher Sanchez
Daily Lobo
Gov. Bill Richardson and UNM's Agora Crisis Center have established a 24-hour toll-free crisis line in the hope to combat suicide in New Mexico.
The state-funded line will allow people to call Agora from anywhere in the state without long-distance fees, said Molly Brack, director of Agora.
Before the number was established, Agora ran off a local number and would apply long-distance fees to those who called elsewhere in the state, she said.
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Agora now has a total of four numbers, including one local number, one state number and two national numbers.
"Anyone who lives in New Mexico will be routed to us," said Brack, referring to the national networks. "We will also take calls from outside of New Mexico."
1-866-help1NM was established in November but made public Friday during a 30-minute televised documentary on mental illness, which aired on KNME-TV.
Richardson said in a news release the line was set up to "enable New Mexico teens to find help fast when they are in a crisis." He said this is the first time the state has funded a toll-free suicide crisis line aimed at helping those in trouble, especially teens.
In 2004, there were 356 suicides in New Mexico, according to the office of medical investigators. Though the rate has decreased from 2001, New Mexico is consistently higher than the national average, according to the office of medical investigators.
Jon Goldstein, spokesman for Richardson, said the state chose Agora because of its history.
"We are building upon what Agora has done, and that is why we chose Agora," he said.
Agora was established in 1970 and is one the oldest crisis centers in the nation. Agora is run mostly by volunteers, with the majority of volunteers being UNM students.
Brack said Agora has about 150 volunteers each semester, which is the maximum limit of volunteers. She said there are two to four volunteers at the crisis center at any given time during the week.
Brack did not know how many people called the crisis line when the number debuted during the documentary Friday, but said the results were good.
"As soon as the number would flash on the screen, every phone would start ringing," she said.
