Resources to help you with mental health
Hillsborough County and its partners prepared to promote wellness during pandemic
With the additional challenges posed by COVID-19, if you or a loved one need help, local organizations are ready to assist.
The COVID-19 outbreak has increased calls to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, which is a nonprofit and Hillsborough County community partner. Crisis Center specialists provide immediate emotional support and connections to more than 3,000 community resources, with services ranging from food to counseling to transportation for health purposes, including for those with COVID-19 cases. When possible, counseling and advice are rendered by telephone during the coronavirus outbreak for the safety of clients and therapists.
Contact the Crisis Center by calling 2-1-1 day or night, seven days a week.
Hillsborough County Aging Services has twice-weekly virtual wellness sessions to help keep seniors mentally and physically engaged. The hour-long sessions are broken into segments that include healthy tips for eating and exercising and emphasis on the importance of mental and emotional stimulation, such as laughter, meditation and communication.
The virtual sessions are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sessions in English are from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Those in Spanish are from 1 to 2 p.m. The call-in phone number is 1-888-585-9008. When you hear a voice recording, dial the conference room number, 784-132-094#.
Like the crisis center, a new alliance of local agencies that helps people with mental health issues and addictions is seeing an uptick in inquiries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The nonprofit West Central Florida Mental Wellness Coalition is comprised of almost 30 hospitals, government and law enforcement agencies, health-care groups, schools, businesses and others with interests in mental health in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties. It formed in 2019 so members with mental health expertise in specific areas could get a collective, big-picture view.
The coalition is braced for a surge of inquiries, especially as people assess their circumstances as a result of the coronavirus. “Coming out the other side will be the big challenge,” says Carrie Zeisse, the coalition’s president and CEO.
Email the coalition at info@wcf-mwc.org.
