Community Mental Health Frontline Workers Want Mainers to Know They Are Not Alone
Community Mental Health Frontline Workers Want Mainers to Know They Are Not Alone
Agencies that deliver services close to home reach out to Mainers, prescribe a “Mental Health Tool Kit” of resources
November 23, 2020 – With the holidays and winter approaching, a growing number of Mainers of all ages are struggling with mental and behavioral health challenges including anxiety and depression due to COVID-19. Front line workers who deliver mental health services in Maine are seeing an increasing demand and want Mainers to know that support is available, where convenient to them – close to home.
Tracy Mallwitz is with The Opportunity Alliance, which operates the Maine Crisis Line (1-888-568-1112) – a service that is available statewide 24 hours a day, seven days a week by phone, text, or chat. During COVID-19, the service has received an average of 300 calls each day, an increase of about 50 calls each day. In October, Mallwitz reports that the Maine Crisis Line answered 8,734 calls and more than half were related to the pandemic in some way.
“We are hearing from more and more people who have never experienced mental health issues in the past. The intensity and length of time we are on the phone supporting them has also increased,” said Mallwitz.
Sweetser’s Director of Recovery Services Scott Metzger said that the Intentional Warm Line (1-866-771-9276) is available statewide to adults 18 and older and has seen an increase in calls since the pandemic hit in March. Use of the Warm Line has increased by 44%, or 19,803 calls as of the end of October. The phone line is staffed by trained peer specialists who have had a solid journey of wellness and recovery from mental health, substance use disorders, and trauma. And they are spending more than double the amount of time talking with callers, compared to pre-COVID-19.
KidsPeace Alternative Response Program Case Manager Gabe Smith connects families with the resources they need in the community. He has seen their stress and anxiety levels increase due to the pandemic. “It’s coming from all different directions” he says about their anxiety related to changes in how their children go to school or lockdowns that cause further isolation. And he notes, “The holidays are a traditionally a tough time for these families and the current situation is just going to exacerbate that.”
Oxford County Mental Health Services is located in a rural part of the state, where they have seen the elderly population struggle with isolation and depression now more than ever because people are being cautious about in-person visits with their loved ones, and reaching out by phone instead.
Member organizations within the Behavioral Health Community Collaborative (BHCC) employ a total of about 3,000 people who serve approximately 80,000 clients in Maine each year. BHCC organizations are: KidsPeace, Oxford County Mental Health Services, Shalom House, Spurwink, Sweetser, The Opportunity Alliance, and Volunteers of America Northern New England.
Learn more about the Behavioral Health Community Collaborative at mentalhealth4ME.org where you can find a find a Mental Health Tool Kit of resources including the Mental Health Protective Equipment from KidsPeace, and the myStrength Online Wellness Tools & Activities for COVID-19 from Sweetser.
###