AMANDA OLSEN

aolsen@antonmediagroup.com

With the constant bombardment of news each day brings, it can be hard not to live in a state of hyper-sensitivity. According to the Mayo Clinic, surveys have shown a major increase in the number of U.S. adults who report symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression and insomnia compared to before the pandemic. Stress is a normal psychological and physical reaction to the demands of life. Everyone reacts differently to difficult situations, and it’s normal to feel stress and worry during a crisis. But multiple challenges can push people beyond their ability to cope.

For some people, their mental health issues disrupt their lives enough to leave them unemployed or even unhoused. When someone is in crisis, it’s important to know how to help them. Having this information, and understanding when and how to implement it, can deescalate a potentially dangerous situation and prevent serious harm.

There are a number of resources available, both for those experiencing the crisis and the people who love and want to help them. The Long Island Crisis Center serves as a central hub for many of them in Nassau and Suffolk counties, directing people to the service that may be most helpful. “We’re predominantly a crisis hotline. People can call if they are suicidal, looking for housing, dealing with rape, sexual assault, domestic violence and substance abuse. And people can call our hotline either for themselves or if they’re concerned about someone that they love,” said Christine Cione, Clinical Director at LICC, when describing the center’s focus.

The Crisis Center does not just hand out resources and leave people to fend for themselves. With the caller’s permission, they will follow up to make sure that they are getting the help they need. Cione describes this as a ‘warm hand off:’ “We follow up with callers, so if someone is at risk for suicide, or let’s say domestic violence, and they give us permission, we can follow up with them in a few days via phone and check in and see how they’re doing, if they’ve been linked up with services. And we’ll do that until we feel that they are established with a provider or some kind of therapist. we tried to do a lot of warm hand offs in that way.”

One of the most helpful interventions is the mobile crisis unit. Manned by plainclothes psychiatric social workers who arrive in a regular, unmarked vehicle, the mobile unit is able to assess the individual where they are, in a non-threatening way, and make a determination for how to proceed based on that assessment. There is a unit for both Nassau and Suffolk, as well as a larger unit that serves all of New York City. If the person really is in psychiatric distress, the unit will call 911 to have EMS transport the person to a hospital to be further evaluated. If they determine that is not necessary, they will provide resources to get the person into housing.

If the person in distress is not known to the individual, the best way to help can be less certain. Many people’s first instinct is to call the police. While most likely well-intentioned, this is not always the best course of action. It isn’t possible to know what kind of interactions the person has had with police in the past. Dealing with uniformed officers may make the situation worse, and cause harm that could have been prevented. Cione recommends the mobile crisis unit in this situation as well. “The police are trained to enforce the law. Now, more and more, they are being trained around the issues surrounding mental health, but even if the police officers aren’t doing anything, a person can look at a person in uniform and be triggered or be re traumatized. You don’t necessarily know what the reaction will be, and it could become dangerous. (With the mobile crisis unit) they’re regular social workers in plainclothes who are specifically trained how to de-escalate mental health and crisis situations.” She said.

Above all, empathy and compassion are needed when dealing with today’s heightened tension. People experiencing mental health crises or homelessness are human, and deserve to be treated with dignity. Cione puts it this way: “I think people in our society are hyper-alert. Ever since the pandemic, people are living in a very anxious state. We need to pause for a second and really try to assess what is going on before reacting. I think we need more understanding of what homeless (or unhoused) individuals are going through. Homeless people are not that different from us, except maybe they fell on hard times or did not get the access to mental health care they needed when they needed it.”

There is training available from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing through the Mental Health Association in New York State that treats mental health situations as part of a first aid training regimen. These courses are offered both in person and online and provide a certificate upon completion.

Nassau Communitycounty Behavioral Health Resource List

Updated

HELPLINES, HOTLINES, CRISIS SERVICES, AND EMERGENCY Call 211: 211 Assists https://www.211.org/get-help/mental-health

Mental Health Association of Nassau County: (516) 489-2322 16 Main Street Hempstead, NY 11550 Crisis Respite Residential Service for Children

Nassau County Behavioral Health Helpline: (516) 227-8255 (TALK) Provides short-term crisis intervention counseling and support for residents struggling with mental illness and/or substance use disorders.

NYS Mental Health Hotline – Project Hope: (844) 863-9314 Project Hope provides New Yorkers with free and confidential help as part of the FEMA response to COVID-19.

CN Guidance and Counseling Services: (631) 521-8524 950 South Oyster Bay Roa d Hicksville, NY 11801 Crisis Respite Residential Service for Adults

Mobile Crisis Unit for Children and Adults: (516) 227-8255 (TALK) 60 Charles Lindbergh Avenue Uniondale, NY 11553 24/7 behavioral health helpline with a team of licensed profe ssional social workers and nurses specially trained to help individuals and their families with mental health problems.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-8255 24/7 hotline for anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/bootstrap/crisis.htmldistress.

Pediatric Behavioral Health Urgent Care

In collaboration with the Northwell Health Equity Task Force

Mental Health Resources

The Long Island Crisis Center Hotline is (516)679-1111. it is available 24/7 for crisis calls, information and referral, as well as outreach for suicidal individuals on Long Island.

Concern for Independent Living-(631)758-0474

Assists mentally ill and veterans in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Association for Mental Health and Wellness-(631)471-7242

Catholic Charities Mental Health Residential Services (516)733-7000

Federation of Organizations-www. fedoforg.org

FREE (Family Residences and Essential Enterprise) (516)870-1600

Options for Community Livingwww.optionscl.org

Pax Christi Hospitality Center (631)928-9108

For men over the age of 16

Family Service League(631)427-3700

Services for the Underserved in NYC

• 212-633-6900

• 877-583-5336 (Veterans)

Emergency Housing---Emergency Housing-DSS--Nassau County

• 516-227-8519 or 227-8395

(8am-4pm)

• 516-573-8626 after hours (4pm-8am)