Maureen Dunleavy, the Regional Vice President of the Guidance Care Center, an organization that has locations all over the Keys, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5 FM this morning to talk about mental health.
September is Suicide Prevention Month.
Dunleavy said, “This is a very important topic for our mission at Guidance Care Center, but also for our community. The Guidance Care Center has just finished our 52nd year in this community. We are have a comprehensive array of services, substance abuse, mental health, as well as some other transportation, other things like that. We have three outpatient locations. Marathon also houses our inpatient unit, which helps people with crisis stabilization when they’re feeling suicidal, and also the only detox in the Keys.”
How can we prevent suicide?
Dunleavy said, “This is a very important topic for our community. Suicide is extremely high in Monroe County, which is definitely related to affordable housing, the cost of living. There’s lots of factors to suicide, and there’s no single cause for why people choose to end their own life, and so we want to make sure that we raise awareness and people don’t like to talk about suicide. Yet, it’s really touched us all.”
What are some of the warning signs?
Dunleavy said, “There are always warning signs. People typically will show risk through what they say, through how they’re feeling or what they do and oftentimes we just miss it. We don’t catch the red flag until it’s too late. The biggest warning sign is that when you haven’t seen somebody in a while, or they’re isolating, withdrawing, that actually is the biggest warning sign for both suicide and for just violence in general. It’s a myth that if you ask somebody about suicide, you’re somehow going to put the idea in their head, and they’re going to want to do it. So it’s really important that we ask those questions, because most often, if we connect with somebody else and we ask them if they’re struggling, if we ask them if they’re thinking about suicide, oftentimes they will tell us that yes, and then we connect them to help. So probably the simplest, easiest thing that everybody can do is just to reach out to people that they haven’t seen in a while. That actually helps them as much as it helps us. Then ask the question. Ask if I haven’t seen you in a while, are you thinking of suicide? If they say yes, then of course, there are a lot of resources to be able to get them help. Actually, September 8 is 988 day nationally. Of course, 988, is what they changed the suicide hotline to, so instead of having to remember a 10 digit number, you only have to remember three numbers, just like 911, and so you can call or text 988, and be connected to an individual to be able to help get connected to those community resources that Guidance Care Center provides.”
The hotline is 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Dunleavy added, “In addition to that, locally, we’ve got a mobile crisis response team that’s through the Guidance Care Center. So anyone in the Florida Keys can call 24/7, dial our main number, which is the 305-434-7660, and when the script starts, just press eight, and you’ll be connected to the mobile crisis team, and we’ll actually come out to help you. We also have people who walk into our facilities, of course Marathon being the crisis stabilization unit and detox, it has 24 hour access. But Key West and Key Largo also have business hours eight to five, Monday through Friday, and people can just walk in and say, hey, I’m really struggling. I need some help. I definitely would encourage people that if you have someone who’s thinking of suicide, go with them to go say, let’s just find out what’s available. Let’s find out what’s happening.”
What do you do if the person that you suspect is in trouble denies that they’re having trouble or doesn’t want help?
Dunleavy said, “I definitely recommend that we elicit concern. We obviously want to let people know we’re worried about them, that thoughts of suicide are temporary. So just because you have suicidal thoughts doesn’t mean you’re going to be struggling with this for a lifetime, and that there is help available. We can do a three way call. We can go check out information, of course, we’ve done wellness checks on individuals before, to make sure that they’re doing okay. But the goal is always to get someone to connect them, to help with them. So it’s not so scary.”
Suicide prevention is a major mission for the Guidance Care Center.
Dunleavy said, “There’s lots of tools available to people. So just because you know you’re feeling this way, you’re struggling, doesn’t mean you’re going to be hospitalized, doesn’t mean you have to take medication. Educate yourself on what the options are to help you, because we all need tools to be able to cope with what’s going on in our life. Different points of life are more stressful than others, and I find it fascinating that it’s Suicide Prevention Month, and it’s September, which is, of course, the height of hurricane season. So those of us who’ve lived here a long time also have those additional stressors, especially when it’s publicized, it’s going to be a tough year for storms, that brings up a lot of anxiety and a lot of stress that can be very overwhelming. So you’ve got to have a lot of tools in your toolbox to be able to deal with what life throws at you.”
Age and income are never an impediment to getting services at the Guidance Care Center.
Dunleavy said, “Both 988, and our mobile crisis response team are free services, so there is no charge for that, and are there accessible 24/7. In addition to that Guidance Care Center has a lot of state funding, county funding, and so we help people whether they can pay for it or not. So no one should be afraid of coming in to find out what’s available or to access help because they’re worried about that they can’t pay for it because we’re here for that.”
Is there an age group that’s more at risk for suicide than others?
Dunleavy said, “I think it depends upon where you look nationally, for our community, it’s 45 to 60 and that is because the greatest risk factor in the Monroe County Florida Keys is if you’re a renter. Typically, individuals in that age group may be struggling, and we know that most of the families in our community can’t afford insurance, have difficulty putting food on the table, meeting basic living expenses because their paycheck is going to their rent or to their mortgage, and so it’s really important, again, that people remember that help is available and it’s free.”
The phone number is 305-434-7660.
Dunleavy said, “It actually is a whole script of every service and location that Guidance Care Center provides. So if people can listen and press the number that is for the service they want, but if they’re in crisis and we need to be able to reach someone immediately, press option eight, and they’ll be connected to the mobile crisis response team. We all have mental health, connecting with others is the one thing that we all can do to solve this problem, and that we don’t want to lose one more life in this community. So please, know help is available, and we will help you, whether you can pay for it or not.”
For more information, click here: http://www.guidancecarecenter.org/