The city of Jacksonville opened a phone bank Tuesday to connect people with local mental health resources.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Phone lines remained busy Tuesday as mental health professionals answered calls from people seeking information about community resources. His one-day phone bank was part of the rollout of Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan’s new Mental Health Matters Jax initiative.
Lynn Sherman, director of health programs for the City of Jacksonville, estimates that more than 200 people called in during the entire 12-hour window.
“We get calls from parents and grandparents and even teenagers,” Sherman explained.
Volunteers were always on hand to guide callers to the most appropriate resources based on their situation. Mayor Deegan said calls to United Way of Northeast Florida’s 988 Crisis Center have increased 75% since 2022. Sherman attributes the increase to the coronavirus pandemic, which has changed people’s lives and forced people into isolation.
“It’s getting worse and worse because the stressors that families are dealing with are getting worse and worse. The pressures are way above what people can handle these days,” Sherman said. .
Susanna Mailloux is executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Jacksonville and one of the volunteers answering the phones. She heard from people of all ages and backgrounds, including parents seeking help for their children.
“There are certainly young people who call, and there are a lot of parents who call about not just their youth, but about their young people. They call about their adult children who have severe mental illness. I have elderly family members who come here,” Mailloux said.
Mailloux said many people don’t ask for help because they don’t know where to start, but the phone bank was a first step for those looking for change.
“It can be very confusing, and sometimes you run into situations where you don’t get a reservation right away. And it’s really hard to figure out where to go. But that’s why we’re here. That’s why,” Mailloux explained.
If you miss your call to the phone bank, visit the city’s new mental health resources website.
