Community Mental Health Resources
An often-overlooked resource is your county’s division of mental health. The federal and state government provide funding to support local mental health services. Some services that may be available are: 24/7 crisis response hotlines, one or more low-cost mental health organizations that provide outpatient therapy, psychiatrists, group therapy and community support organizations. In order to find these services, just google your county name and “mental health services”
For example: I just googled Westchester (a New York county) mental health services and easily found : a crisis prevention and response team, children’s services including in-home, out of home and inpatient and crisis.
24/7 youth crisis support service is something that I utilized when my son wasn’t leaving his bedroom. This is something that may help school refusal families because it brings a social worker in your home and helps assess the situation and your needs. The image with this post is an example of these services offered in Bergen County NJ.
Counties will vary in their offerings. If your county doesn’t have mental health resources, then try googling your state mental health services. I was pleased to easily find Tennessee’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
And if you find that your county and state are not providing basic mental health services, then you should contact your local congressperson or senator’s office. Our federal representatives have staff to help their constituents. And additionally, they need to know if there is a void in their mental health services.
