Maureen Dunleavy, regional vice president of the Guidance Care Center of the Florida Keys, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the organization.
September is Suicide Prevention Month and the Guidance Care Center looks to reduce suicides in the county.
Dunleavy said, “September is kind of significant for a number of reasons. It’s Suicide Prevention Month, and it’s also Recovery Month, which goes kind of hand in hand with mental health and addiction, and then also it’s the busiest time of hurricane season, and we know that there is a direct link between natural disasters and suicide in our community, so we kind of want to raise as much awareness as we can about the services that we have. We’ve been in this community 54 years, and we’ve got three sites throughout the Keys, and we do a lot of community based services. We have the entire continuum of care, so everything from prevention to our crisis stabilization unit in Marathon, which is for adults that may be at risk of taking their own lives or taking someone else’s. It’s the only detox also in the Keys. So even though people don’t think about substance use as really as part of mental health, they really do go together. Mental health is on a continuum. We all have it, and substance use sometimes is used as a coping skill to deal with the stressors that people are feeling for mental health, and it can become problematic.”
A Crisis Prevention Task Force is also available to the schools.
Dunleavy said, “I think it’s really important for listeners to know that our school district has gotten a certification in suicide prevention as well, so I think they’re the first in Florida, and that is such a huge accomplishment. They’ve partnered with guidance Care Center to assist in providing the mental health services that are needed to students. So we co locate all of our staff in the schools. They’re easily accessible to students. Then, of course, we have our mobile crisis response team that’s available 24/7, not only for kids, but for anyone in this community who’s in crisis and needs help. We actually go out to wherever you are, or your family is, and we’ll make a plan and help to facilitate any services that are needed. Again, that’s for any resident. So it doesn’t matter the age of the person, we’re just available 24/7, and you can connect to a live person through our main number and then option eight.”
Just asking someone how they’re doing can be a real help.
Dunleavy said, “We think it needs to be this grand gesture. I mean, I’ve seen people post on social media like, don’t hesitate to reach out. I have the kettle on, we’ll talk. I think it’s really important for everybody to remember that isolation and people that are withdrawing is one of the red flags for someone’s in trouble, maybe from suicidal thoughts, or could be domestic violence, could be something else. We know that isolation withdrawal is a huge link. We also know that everybody in this community is at risk of suicide just by the sheer fact of living here, because we know there have been studies done that say that if you rent you’re at high risk, because people may get to a point to where they don’t see a way out other than taking their own life and of course, if you’re drinking, when you start feeling that way, that becomes even more dangerous. If you have access to a firearm that is the recipe for death. So we want to make sure that if people ever feel that way, to be able to reach out for help through our crisis line, but individuals in the community can easily just reach out. The greatest protective factor we have is connection. So sometimes just texting somebody, going out to for coffee, saying, hey, I haven’t seen you, worried about you or what’s going on, or how are you doing, can be life saving, because it’ll be difficult for somebody in that dark place to reach out. But something simple as a non threatening text, or something that is simple opens the door for that conversation.”
Are the cutbacks affecting the Guidance Care Center?
Dunleavy said, “We aren’t making any cuts. No programs are closing, and a lot of our services are free. So the mobile crisis response line 24/7 is a free service to individuals. If we come out, if people end up on our crisis stabilization unit or detox, they don’t have to worry about getting a bill. We don’t send people to collections. We help people regardless of ability to pay. So don’t let that be the reason not to reach out, because those services are all provided regardless. And 988, is also free.”
Suicide prevention is an ongoing topic all year, not just in September.
Dunleavy said, “People should not be afraid to reach out for help. As I said, we all have mental health. It’s just like physical health and challenges vary throughout our lifetime, as do our coping skills. So having more tools in the toolbox can’t hurt anybody. We don’t want to lose one more life in this community.”
For more information, click here: https://guidancecarecenter.org/