Crisis support + access to justice

This short guide is for the moment when child-access, custody, or family-court pressure stops feeling merely procedural.

RIGHT NOW
- If there is immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
- Call or text 988 for free, confidential 24/7 crisis support.
- In Maine, call Maine Crisis Line: 1-888-568-1112.
- Domestic abuse helpline: 1-866-834-4357.
- Sexual assault helpline: 1-800-871-7741.
- 211 Maine can help route you to local services and supports.

THE HONEST RECORD
- There is not a clean official Western-country count of parents who die by suicide because of child-access disputes.
- England and Wales ONS has publicly said it does not collect data on how often family-court delays lead to suicides.
- Canada and Australia publish national suicide mortality data, but not a standard custody/access cause category.
- Related research still shows family-court settings can involve high conflict, lengthy proceedings, mental distress, and child mental-health warning signs.

ONE JUSTICE STEP TODAY
- Protection order / safety issue: use Maine Judicial Branch abuse-and-harassment pages.
- Child-access / parental-rights issue: use the Parental Rights and Responsibilities page and Family Court Process page.
- Filing-fee barrier: ask the court to waive fees using the application described on the Maine family-process page.
- Need legal help: contact Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project and Pine Tree Legal Assistance.
- Need forms: use the Maine Judicial Branch forms page so you are working from current packets.

PAGE ROUTES
- Crisis page: crisis-support.html
- Official doors: official-doors.html
- Find help fast: find-help.html
- Forms + filing: forms-filing.html
- Court week: court-week.html
- Family Hub: resources.html