Hundreds of residents a month still reaching out for help

Nearly 500 calls a month are still being made to the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center’s 24/7 Crisis Hotline.

COVID-19, depression, anxiety, and loneliness are among the top reasons why hundreds of island residents pick up the phone to speak with trained professionals, agency director, Theresa Arriola said. 

Despite the island recording fewer COVID numbers daily, Arriola said in an interview with KUAM News that GBHWC is still receiving an influx of calls monthly. 

"Not necessarily dropped, I think it’s leveling off around 400 close to 500 actually every month," she said. "So, it's April as of Wednesday we had 280 calls come in and we’re only at April 20. Even though the community might be seeing a decline and an opening up of many things, the governor lifting up the restrictions especially for outdoors."

Some 1,750 calls have already been made to hotline since January 2022. About 518 calls were recorded in January, 463 in February, 489 in March and as of Wednesday, 280. According to KUAM News archives, an estimated 30 calls were recorded per month, pre-COVID. 

Arriola continues to push households to dial into the 24/7 crisis hotline at 671-647-8833 if needing someone to talk to.