CORAL GABLES – Mental health support groups are seeing a growing network of peers ready to serve people through an underused resource.
The 988 Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a 24/7 call center with dispatchers able to help ease mental health crises.
“That’s not well-known in the community, but if there is a mental health crisis happening, call 988,” said Susan Holtzman, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) in Miami-Dade County. “That’s the best thing to call.”
The emergency line can send therapeutic mobile response teams to talk with people in need and refer them to NAMI for education and support groups, Holtzman said.
Miami-Dade County has four teams with mental health professionals able to assess emergency situations, she said. However, when there is immediate danger, 988 dispatchers will send police officers. Miami-Dade County police have a crisis response team that shows up with an EMT who has psychological training, Holtzman said.
“You have a police officer, an EMT that come in a white unmarked SUV,” she said. “Their uniforms are different, so they don’t have that same ‘the police are here’ look. They will talk and assess the situation.”
Holtzman believes those crisis teams are reducing violence and the use of Florida’s Baker Act.
Knowing how to access resources is paramount during the holidays because the stress can intensify mental illness symptoms, Holtzman said.
“The pressures of having to buy gifts or spend time with family where stress can intensify that,” she added. “I think the most important thing you can do is recognize it. When you recognize that someone else is struggling, ask them. Ask them how they’re doing. Acknowledge it. If they don’t want to talk to you, encourage them to talk to someone.”
To contact NAMI Miami-Dade County, call (305) 665-2540. Anyone in crisis can text NAMI to 741-741.
There is also a 24-hour hotline to reach Miami’s Mobile Response Team. You can reach them at 800-HELP-YOU (800-435-7968).
