Since the Nevada County Behavioral Health Department’s 24/7 mobile crisis team launched in January, crisis specialists have received nearly 200 calls for help, and mental health needs are on the rise.
“It can feel really hard to ask for help, but the behavior of asking for help is healthy. It’s a good thing. It’s not a sign of weakness,” said Phoebe Bell, Nevada County Behavioral Health Director.
“The conventional wisdom that you don’t need help is a really harmful myth. We all need to look after our mental health. We all need support sometimes,” Bell said.
In response, the Nevada County Behavioral Health Department and Nevada County Public Health are working with community partners to make it easier for people to access services, including a new mobile crisis team, through a new campaign called “Mental Health Matters Nevada County.”
The new campaign, which launched on May 1 as part of Mental Health Awareness Month, aims to remove the stigma around getting help by increasing public awareness, understanding and access to mental health and suicide prevention resources.
Nevada County Mental Health Matters aims to eliminate the stigma of receiving 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 you have a mental health problem makes people less likely to seek support. It’s especially dangerous for people who are suicidal. We have to end it. We need everyone to know that seeking help is healthy and normal,” Bell said.
A central feature of the campaign is a new website, www.MentalHealthMattersNC.com , where community members can find important mental health and suicide prevention resources in one centralized hub.
Resources for Veterans and Students
This campaign is good news for the veteran community.
“We need more local resources,” said David West, Nevada County’s veterans services officer, who serves 10,000 veterans and their families and children. Since July 1, 2023, the VA has made 91 mental health referrals.
Substance use, PTSD, depression, dealing with the transition to civilian life, connecting with people outside of the military, the stresses of the job market and the rising cost of living are some of the challenges facing veterans’ mental health.
“Not all veterans want to talk about how they’re feeling, but everyone needs the tools,” West said. “The goal is post-traumatic growth. This is no longer a disability. You can get better.”
Organizations like Nevada County’s new Youth Commission also see the need for mental health resources for students and have made it one of their areas of focus for their first year, and in local schools, new online hubs are making resources easier for youth, families and teachers to access when timing matters.
The “Youth and Schools” section of the website provides links to health pages for all schools in the county as well as 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 our students are facing right now. We have and will continue to work closely with the county to address these challenges head-on for the benefit of all Nevada County students and staff. This is critical work and we are proud to be partners,” said Nevada County Superintendent of Schools Scott Ray.
For many years, the Nevada County Suicide Prevention Task Force has included representation from school principals. The local coalition will change its name to the Mental Health Matters Nevada County Coalition, but its mission will remain the same. This multi-disciplinary group of community organizations, local agencies and service providers will continue to lead local mental health and suicide prevention efforts in Western Nevada County.
The new website is made up of three sections: “Crisis Services,” “Getting Help” and “General Resources.”
Crisis Services provides an overview of the support network available to those experiencing a mental health crisis or considering suicide, including in-person, phone, text and webchat crisis services, including Nevada County’s new Mobile Crisis Team (which is separate from and complements the Sheriff’s Office’s existing Law Enforcement Mobile Crisis Team), which is available day or night, 365 days a year at (530) 265-5811.
An easy-to-navigate website is essential to helping people in crisis. Last year, Nevada County’s Crisis Line received 1,730 calls and 388 people were admitted to the Nevada County Crisis Stabilization Unit. Since the new Mobile Crisis Team was launched in January, the team has received 191 calls.
The website strives to address more specific audiences with resources such as ‘Mother, Baby and Postnatal’ to ensure that no one is alone and that others have shared experiences. Links to local organisations and support groups provide the opportunity to further explore the network of local and regional services.
The “Get Help” section of the website demystifies the process of getting help by sharing the step-by-step process residents can follow to get help for the mental health or substance use disorder challenges they face, filtered by the type of insurance they have (Medicare, private insurance, uninsured, self-pay).
General Resources provides information on a range of general mental health and suicide prevention topics, including self-care and mindfulness tips, tips for caring for others, educational videos and outreach toolkits.
“Nevada County’s Mental Health Matters campaign provides a powerful resource for our community to find mental health and suicide prevention resources that fit their needs. The MentalHealthMattersNC.com website points to our local and national crisis response options and demystifies the challenges of getting help. We hope this campaign breaks down the stigma around getting help and continues the conversation that mental health is important in our community,” said Collin Amezcua, Suicide Prevention Coordinator for Nevada County Public Health.
Laura Petersen is A freelance writer living in Grass Valley, this is one in a series of articles written on behalf of Nevada County. She can be reached at laurapetersenmedia@gmail.com.
