Since the January launch of Nevada County Behavioral Health’s 24/7 Mobile Crisis Team, crisis specialists have received nearly 200 calls for help and mental health needs are growing.
“It can feel so hard to ask for help. But help seeking behavior is healthy. It’s good. It’s not a sign of weakness,” said Phebe Bell, Nevada County Behavioral Health Director.
“The norm to never need help is a really damaging myth. We all have to take care of our mental health. We all need support sometimes,” Bell said.
In response, Nevada County Behavioral Health and Nevada County Public Health have come together with community partners to make it easier for people to access services such as the new Mobile Crisis Team through a new campaign called Mental Health Matters Nevada County.
Launched May 1 as part of Mental Health Awareness Month, the new campaign is designed to destigmatize getting help by increasing public awareness, understanding and access to mental health and suicide prevention resources.
Mental Health Matters Nevada County is designed to destigmatize getting help by increasing public awareness, understanding and access to mental health and suicide prevention resources.
“Stigma is deadly. Embarrassment about asking for help or admitting we are struggling with our mental health can keep people from reaching out for support. This is especially dangerous if someone is experiencing thoughts of suicide. We need to end that. We need everyone to know it is healthy and normal to seek help,” said Bell.
The campaign’s central feature is the new website, www.MentalHealthMattersNC.com, where community members can discover important mental health and suicide prevention resources in one centralized hub.
Resources for Veterans and Students
The campaign is good news for the Veteran community.
“We need more local resources,” said David West, Veterans Service Officer who serves 10,000 veterans in Nevada County and their surviving spouses and children. Since July 1, 2023, the veterans department has made 91 mental health referrals.
Substance use, PTSD, depression, coping with transitioning to civilian life, connecting with people outside service and the stressors of the job market and high cost of living are some of the challenges facing veteran’s mental wellness.
“Not all of the vets want to talk about their feelings but everyone needs tools,” said West. “The goal is post traumatic growth. It’s not a disorder anymore. You can get better.”
Groups such as Nevada County’s new Youth Commission have identified the need for mental health resources for students too, making it one of their focus areas in their first year. In local schools, the new online hub is helping young people, families and teachers easily tap into resources when timing can be critical.
A “Youth and Schools” section of the website provides links to all the school wellness pages across the county as well as some additional resources such as a Youth Crisis Page and Telehealth options for youth.
“The Mental Health Matters campaign is helping our schools address the very real challenges students are currently facing. We have been and continue to work very closely with the county on taking these challenges head on for the benefit of all our students and staff in Nevada County. This is critical work and we are proud to be a partner,” said Scott Lay, Nevada County Superintendent of Schools.
For years, representatives from the Superintendent of Schools have served on the Nevada County Suicide Prevention Task Force. This community coalition is changing its name to Mental Health Matters Nevada County Coalition but not its mission. The cross-sector group, made up of community-based organizations, local agencies and service providers, will continue to guide local mental health and suicide prevention activities in Western Nevada County.
Getting help is healthy
The new website is organized into three sections: Crisis Services, Getting Help and General Resources.
Crisis Services provides an overview of available support networks, including in-person, phone, text and web chat crisis services for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis or thinking about suicide. This includes Nevada County’s new Mobile Crisis Team, which is independent of and complements the Sheriff’s Office’s existing law enforcement Mobile Crisis Team, available anytime of day or night, all year long at (530) 265-5811.
An easy-to-navigate website is critical to serve people when they are in crisis. In the last year, the Nevada County Crisis line has received 1,730 calls and 388 people have been admitted to Nevada County’s Crisis Stabilization Unit. Since the launch of the new Mobile Crisis Team in January, the team has received 191 calls.
The website addresses more specific populations with resources such as “Maternal and Postpartum” in an effort to assure everyone they are not alone and their experiences are shared by others. Links to local organizations and support groups provide even more opportunities to explore a network of local and regional services.
The “Getting Help” section of the website demystifies the process of getting help by sharing the step-by-step process residents can go through to get help for the kind of mental health or substance use disorder challenge they are facing, filtered by the type of insurance they have – Medi-Cal, private insurance, uninsured or self pay.
“General Resources” provides information on a range of general mental health and suicide prevention topics, including tips on self care and mindfulness, tips for taking care of others, plus educational videos and an outreach toolkit.
“The Mental Health Matters Nevada County campaign offers a robust resource for our community to find mental health and suicide prevention resources that fit their needs. The website, MentalHealthMattersNC.com, illustrates our local and national crisis response options and demystifies getting help. We hope this campaign will break down the stigma associated with getting help and keep the conversation going that mental health matters in our community,” said Corinne Amezcua, Suicide Prevention Coordinator, Nevada County Public Health.
Learn more about Mental Health Matters Nevada County by visiting www.MentalHealthMattersNC.com.
Laura Petersen is a freelance writer living in Grass Valley. This is one of a series of articles written on behalf of Nevada County. She can be reached at laurapetersenmedia@gmail.com.