A crisis is whatever feels like more than you can handle safely right now. It might be thoughts of suicide, a panic that will not come down, being unable to stop crying for days, or watching someone you love fall apart. You do not need to be sure it is "bad enough." Michigan's crisis lines are there for exactly the moment when you are not sure.
Save the numbers below in your phone today, while things are calm. In a hard moment, searching is one more thing you should not have to do.
Pick the level of help you need
Immediate danger: 911 or the emergency room
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if someone has hurt themselves or is about to, has taken an overdose, is having chest pain or trouble breathing, or cannot be kept safe. Tell the dispatcher it is a mental health emergency.
A crisis you need to talk through now: 988 or a county line
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org, 24/7
- OCHN Crisis Line (Oakland County): 1-888-238-0611, 24/7
- Common Ground: 1-800-231-1127, 24/7
- Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741
- Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988 then press 1, or text 838255
MDHHS explains that the Michigan Crisis and Access Line, called MiCAL, is the state's crisis line and the 988 call center for most of Michigan, including Oakland County. MiCAL is staffed by Common Ground, which has run a crisis line in Michigan for more than 50 years. Seven counties, including Macomb and Kent, are answered first by regional 988 centers, with MiCAL as backup. MDHHS also notes that MiCAL does not replace county community mental health crisis lines, which provide integrated crisis care for people who receive their services. That is why Oakland County residents have both 988 and the OCHN Crisis Line.
The Veterans Crisis Line says you do not need to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care to use it, and it also serves service members, National Guard and Reserve members and the people who support them.
Someone who can come to you: mobile crisis
Oakland Community Health Network (OCHN) runs a Mobile Crisis Unit for adults 18 and older. According to OCHN, the team can travel anywhere in Oakland County, including homes, doctor's and therapy offices and colleges, to provide crisis stabilization, assessment and safety planning, connection to ongoing care and follow-up. It is dispatched through the OCHN Crisis Line. As of November 2026, OCHN lists in-person and telehealth response Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and telehealth only from 4 to 7 p.m. Outside those hours, the crisis line itself is still open 24/7.
A place to walk in
As of November 2026, OCHN lists its Resource & Crisis Center at 1200 N Telegraph Rd, Building 32E, in Pontiac, as open 24/7 for walk-in crisis services, with no appointment needed. OCHN says crisis services there serve people with Medicaid, Medicare, Healthy Michigan, private insurance or no insurance, and can include authorizing psychiatric hospitalization and identifying follow-up supports. Common Ground announced in January 2026 that its adult crisis care at the center would end and transfer, so call the OCHN Crisis Line first, if you can, to confirm where to go.
For urgent but not life-threatening needs, the Oakland 360 Care Center at 48980 Woodward Ave in Pontiac takes walk-ins for behavioral, social and physical health concerns. OCHN lists help for a sudden increase in anxiety or depression symptoms, talk therapy for immediate support and help during a behavioral health crisis. It serves people regardless of ability to pay and lists afternoon and weekend hours.
Not a crisis, but you need a way in
If you are struggling but safe, OCHN's Access line, (248) 464-6363, screens Oakland County residents and connects them to services. It determines eligibility for public mental health services for people with Medicaid or Healthy Michigan, and for substance use treatment for people with any insurance or none. MDHHS also notes that MiCAL operates the Michigan Peer Warmline, staffed by certified peer support specialists, for people who want to talk with someone who has lived experience.
What to have ready when you call
- Where you are right now, in case help needs to come to you
- A sentence about what is happening and how long it has been building
- Whether you have taken anything, including alcohol or extra medication
- The name of someone who could come and stay with you
- Your insurance card, if you have one, for any follow-up care
You do not need any of this to call. If all you can say is "I am not okay," that is enough to start.
If you are calling about someone else
You can call 988 or the OCHN Crisis Line about another adult. Have their location, any medications or substances involved and whether they are safe right now. Stay with them if you can do so safely. If they have a weapon or you feel unsafe, leave and call 911.
Where outpatient therapy fits
Crisis services are for the hardest hours. Ongoing therapy is for the weeks around them: understanding what led there, building a plan and reducing how often crises happen. Dr. Lehmann offers therapy for depression and anxiety during daytime hours Monday through Thursday, and her practice is not a crisis service. What Happens When You Call or Text 988 explains what a call is actually like, and If You Are Having Thoughts of Suicide covers what to do right now.