People are experiencing a lot of grief right now and sadness. A lot of my callers need someone to listen to them. It is important to recognize Mental Health Awareness Month for people who need us and share resources available.
MOBILE, Ala. (PRWEB) May 21, 2021
AltaPointe Health clinicians can attest that people are hurting and in need of mental health help. Calls to a mental health hotline prove the pandemic is taking a toll on people of all ages and backgrounds.
AltaPointe Health, along with its partner, WKRG-TV 5 in Mobile, recognizes Mental Health Awareness Month by hosting a mental health hotline. AltaPointe staff members answered calls from the public for ten hours on May 18. Callers ranged in age, but all expressed concern over their mental health or someone they love.
"The impact of COVID-19 isolation was a common theme among many callers, isolated in their homes due to the pandemic," said Trinette Law, a therapist with AltaPointe Health. "Depression, anxiety, and financial stress were often relayed on the line."
"There is a lot of grief out there," Eddie Pratt, a therapist with AltaPointe Health, added. "A lot of my calls are people who have experienced the loss of a loved one and have not fully recovered. Many of my callers just needed someone to listen to them talk. This mental health hotline gives them an avenue to reach out and see what resources are available."
Other callers included mothers seeking mental health treatment for their children living with mental illness or substance abuse issues, a man calling from the hospital concerned over the mental health of his spouse, a grandmother calling for her grandson, and several people experiencing grief over the loss of a loved one, and veterans seeking information.
Behavioral health experts estimate that one in five adults will experience a mental health crisis in their life. Behavioral health experts expect that number to rise as the impacts of the pandemic continue to surface. AltaPointe Health's Access to Care answered more than 40 thousand calls for mental health treatment in the last six months.
If you need help, you can call AltaPointe at (251) 450-2211. It provided more than 1 million mental health, substance abuse, intellectual disabilities, and primary care services in 2020.