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North Carolina to receive mental health screening kiosks

Wellness company Trillium Health Resources has deployed mental health screening kiosks in Hyde and Dare counties in North Carolina.

December 15, 2015

Wellness company Trillium Health Resources has deployed mental health screening kiosks in Hyde and Dare counties in North Carolina. The goal of the deployment is to help users identify issues and connect them with appropriate resources, according to a report by Public Radio East.

This is part of an effort by Trillium to connect rural residents with mental health assistance. "Mental health is not any more prevalent in eastern North Carolina than anywhere else in the United States," said Cindy Ehlers, vice president of clinical operations at Trillium. "A lot of the opportunities that may exist in larger more urban areas, don't exist in eastern North Carolina because there are less people."

The kiosks, which are located at the Hyde County Government Center and the Dare County Department of Public Health, ask users detailed questions about their mental health and substance usage, and then refer them to treatment facilities, free of charge. The kiosks were paid for by a grant.

Hyde County Public Health Department Director David Howard hopes that these kiosks will help de-stigmatize mental health issues and encourage early preventative treatment.

"It is fantastic to have it out in the open, helps to de-stigmatize the issues of behavioral health and to bring it on par with people freely talking about their physical health, dieting, exercising etc.," Howard said. "It just moves us a little further toward behavioral health issues becoming more of a normal conversation and concern."