Maureen Dunleavy, regional vice president for the Guidance Care Center, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about the organization.
Today is Revive Day.
Dunleavy explained, “It’s an event that Florida actually does statewide, and we partner with the Department of Health, and the goal is to raise awareness about opioid overdose and opioid overdose prevention. We’ve talked about before, the fact that we have Narcan available for free to be able to give out, and that can provide life saving seconds to revive somebody if they’re overdosing.”
The Guidance Care Center has a brand new website.
Dunleavy said, “Definitely people should check it out. We’ve been in the Keys 52 years, as of last month in May, and we have sites throughout the Keys, and we pretty much do everything behavioral health, and have some other programs as well. We have mental health, housing, transportation, but we do everything from prevention to having the only detox facility in the Keys. So we’re located in each of the main areas and we also do a lot of community based services, so there’s a lot available for our community.”
The opioid crisis is an epidemic.
Dunleavy said, “It started with doctors prescribing opioids and pain medication and in mass doses for long periods of time. It was very addicting. So people got addicted to having that, and if they purchase it off the street, or if it’s not from a prescription, or they’re taking more than they’re prescribed, then it really can be deadly. So opioids, of course, most people are familiar with heroin, but we’re talking about the oxycodones, the Vicodins. Then what happened is fentanyl came to be and so if you’re buying medication off the street, it’s not done by a pharmacy, so there is no precise measurement of fentanyl and those drugs. So what happens is it takes very little and you can overdose, and when you’re overdosing, it basically just shuts down your breathing system. It can happen to people who aren’t addicts. I mean, you just have to be exposed to too much of fentanyl, and your body just shuts down, so there is no struggle to breathe or anything like that. You’re just shutting down and of course, if you don’t get oxygen, then it’s going to be fatal.”
It seems as though fentanyl gets more lethal as it goes.
Dunleavy said, “We’re seeing a lot of it in the Keys as well. Of course, I would say maybe three, four years ago, we started to distribute Narcan so anyone can pick up a Narcan kit at any of the Guidance Care Center sites. The health department also gives it out. You don’t have to be a client. You don’t have to be having services. Anybody can pick up a kit, and it’s really good to have in your first aid kit, because you never know when may this may happen to someone you know, someone you love, someone that you just come across. The other good thing about Narcan, so it gives you those life saving minutes to kind of counteract the fentanyl and help you to breathe. But also, it doesn’t hurt you if you’re not overdosing. So I know that we’ve also given it to people that we thought like, oh my god, this person collapsed. Are they overdosing? In that case, it turned out to be a diabetic situation, but the person isn’t going to be harmed by giving them the nasal spray if it’s not overdosing. So everybody should have a kit just to have on hand, because you never know when you’re going to need it. It’s real easy to be exposed to fentanyl, too, especially if it’s in powder form. If you get it on your skin, if you breathe it in, inhale it, you can easily be affected.”
It is important to be aware of our mental health at all times.
Dunleavy said, “We all have mental health, and it’s managed throughout our lifetime. So we definitely need to be aware of our stress levels, of the tools that are available. We offer many. There are many that are free. It’s just about taking care of yourself and your mental health is as important as your physical health. So in May, the city of Key West and Monroe County proclaimed Guidance Care Center week, May 12 through the 18th. We had that, and that was in honor, obviously, for mental health awareness World Mental Health Day, which was May 6. Then the fact that we’ve been in this community 52 years. So that week is when guidance Care Center started in the Keys. We also have made significant progress on our housing, our mental health housing, the Heron in Marathon. Last year we had the groundbreaking, and , now if you’re out there on Coco Plum Drive, you can see the construction is coming along. So that’s very exciting as well, because, of course, we know we need housing in the Keys, and this is specialized housing for people who have mental illness that otherwise would not be able to live independently.”
The Guidance Care Center provides services regardless of a person’s ability to pay.
Dunleavy said, “I think that’s really important. The Guidance Care Center is the safety net for Monroe County. So what does that mean? That means we’re going to provide you services, whether you can pay for it or not. Some services are free, like the mobile crisis response program that’s available 24/7, available through our main number 305-434-7660, you can listen to the script for all of our services, but you just press eight and you’re connected to a live person. Of course, we take insurance and we do other things, but we have funding specifically, if someone is not insured or under insured, or simply just can’t afford to pay for services, because we do not want to lose one more life in this community.”
Uplifting the human spirit is an important mission of the Guidance Care Center.
Dunleavy said, “We’re very proud of what we do in this community, and again, we’re a resource, and we do not want to lose any more life in our community, whether it’s to suicide or to overdose. So please reach out and find out what’s available. Just because you find out what’s available doesn’t mean you’re going to be mandated to do it. We’ve got lots of services, everything from psychiatric care to prevention programs. We’re in all the schools. We have a substance abuse treatment program at the jail, and we have medication assisted treatment for opioids. So it’s very hard to transition from not using and there are medications out there. I mean, of course, people are most familiar with methadone, which we do not provide that, but we have other medications that are available in order to help people stay in recovery. We want everyone to be healthy. And that’s whole health. So mental health, physical health, we want to do it all, so we’re here for you. Do not hesitate to reach out for more information. We will help you, whether you can pay for it or not, and that we don’t want to lose one more life in this community, that 24 hour hotline is 305-434-7660.”
For more information, click here: https://guidancecarecenter.org/