Help A Phone Call Away For Veterans At Crisis Center Of Tampa Bay

Tampa FL

10 November, 2021

6:16 PM

Description

TAMPA, FL — It's a time to honor veterans and highlight their accomplishments. But for organizations like the nonprofit Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Veterans Day also presents an opportunity to shed light on the fact that America's veterans are in crisis. Exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, the number of veterans experiencing mental health difficulties, oftentimes resulting in suicide, has reached epidemic levels across the nation, said Clara Reynolds, president & CEO of the Crisis Center. It's an issue that was largely ignored in the past, she said. Suicide and mental health issues have long carried a societal taboo, and Americans were reluctant to acknowledge that the heroes who fought for their freedom may have walked away with battle scars that weren't visible on the outside. For years, the federal government buried its head in the sand in regard to post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, anxiety and depression. As a result, mental health resources for veterans were scant. Reynolds said that's now changing. "It's now getting more attention as Veterans Affairs facilities and local support groups push plans to combat anxiety, depression and isolation among former military," she said. The 50-year-old crisis center has long focused on suicide awareness and prevention, providing 24/7 support services for those contemplating suicide including veterans. But, recognizing the growing number of veterans needing help, the Crisis Center launched the Florida Veterans Support Line (1-844-MyFLVet) as a five-county pilot program in 2014. "We wanted to create an innovative solution for veterans who felt hopeless and disconnected," Reynolds said. It proved to be the critical first step in what's become a successful interagency collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs. In late 2017, the Florida Veterans Support Line expanded from the five-county pilot stage to being answered statewide through a network of nonprofits. The following year, the crisis center formalized its outreach to veterans in crisis after receiving $1 million to develop and run the veterans crisis program. "Using trained, veteran peers, this support line has become a trusted source for veterans and a model for the state of Florida," Reynolds said. "It has served tens of thousands of veterans and their families." In March, the crisis center was rewarded for its efforts when it received a glowing annual contractor performance assessment report from the VA Sunshine Healthcare Network, which provides the funding for the Florida Veterans Support Line. "This report validates our efforts to serve this vital population, particularly during this pandemic," Reynolds said. "This collaboration with the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay and the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs plays a vital role in our suicide prevention efforts," said Dr. Miguel LaPuz, director of the VA Sunshine Healthcare Network. "Connecting veterans who are experiencing an emotional or mental health crisis with certified veteran counselors at 2-1-1 Centers across Florida save lives." The funding provided the resources to hire veteran resource management staff and veteran peer care coordinators at nonprofit organizations throughout Florida to answer calls from the Florida Veterans Support Line and 2-1-1. The veteran peer care coordinators, veterans themselves who can relate to the experiences of the veterans seeking help, also provide follow-up, short-term support. "Peer to Peer support is proven to be extremely effective in connecting veterans to the network of help they need and deserve," Reynolds said. "By talking with a fellow veteran, these men and women have the opportunity to work with someone who has walked a mile in their shoes. Because of this, there is already a baseline of trust established as we work to help the veteran." The program was modeled after the national Veterans Crisis Line. In the seven years it's been in place, Reynolds said they've prevented hundreds of veterans from taking their lives and helped them obtain the help they needed. "This is a heartfelt, collaborative effort among government and private entities to reduce the number of veteran suicides in our state through intervention and education," said Glenn Sutphin, executive director of the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs. "Our goal is to bring awareness that we all have a hand to play in crisis intervention to tackle a very real public health challenge." After years of falling on deaf ears, it's a crisis that is now getting the attention it deserves, said Dr. Troy Howell, suicide prevention coordinator for James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa. "Twenty veterans are dying per day by suicide, but only six of them are getting care from the VA at any given time," said Howell said. According to the VA, up to 7,300 veterans die by suicide each year. That's more than the nearly 7,000 military who died in combat in the 18 years since Sept. 11, 2001. Unfortunately, oftentimes it's the veterans themselves who stand in the way of getting help, Howell said. "It's hard for somebody who has been trained — for lack of a better term — to avoid admitting fault to now come in and ask for help," said Howell. "When a veteran is calling in for help, it took a big step for them to even come to that point," said Nikita Wilson, a veteran and supervisor of the veterans support line, who has struggled with her own trauma. "When someone who can relate to them and understand what they're saying, it helps break down those barriers bit by bit," said Wilson. "Then there's those who have been battling the internal battle for so long, and it's reaching a point to where they can't do it alone anymore." The support line receives more than 4,000 calls a year although those numbers escalated during the pandemic when veterans lost jobs, struggled to pay rent and utility bills, some becoming homeless. "We knew many unfortunately were considering taking their lives and we were losing as a country 22 veterans a day to suicide," said Reynolds. "Many have lost their jobs and haven't been able to get the medical care they need," she said. "We've got an influx of veterans that are transitioning into the state of Florida from the Northeast, and they're looking for resources and support." Not only did calls increase to the hotline during the pandemic, but the duration of those calls tripled from six minutes to 20 minutes as veterans sought advice on how to get unemployment assistance, rental assistance and health care. The peer care coordinators don't simply lend an empathetic ear to callers, Reynolds said. "We have access to over 2,000 different community resources that are available to help individuals across our community with any kind of life challenge that they might be having. Whether it's food, clothing, shelter, child development related issues, behavioral health-related issues," she said. Calls to the center escalated again over the summer when the Taliban launches its offensive, resulting in an outbreak of violence in Afghanistan. For many post-9/11 and Afghanistan war veterans, the events hit close to home. They were watching 20 years of sacrifice and struggle erased in a single weekend. Reynolds said the crisis center buttressed its peer care coordinators for an avalanche of calls from veterans feeling angry and dejected. "It's important that they remember their mission was to keep the United States safe after 9/11 and they did that," she said. "Those veterans and their families who served right alongside them should feel incredibly proud for the work that they did." On Veterans Day and going into the holiday season, the center is once again preparing for an increased number of calls. "Veterans Day, while it is a time for us to honor and celebrate our veterans, for many of the veterans who call us, it is also a time of great reflection and anxiety and depression for thinking about their brothers and sisters that they might have lost during combat," said Reynolds. But now help is just a phone call away, she said. "We want all of our veterans to know that the Crisis Center is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide you and your family members any type of help and support that you might need during this time," said Reynolds.