Mental health has been at the forefront of concerns in our country lately. Research shows that the widespread disruption in our lives has led to an uptick in reports of anxiety and depression in both children and adults. At the same time, the pandemic has made it harder for our most vulnerable communities to access the care they need.
But figuring out how to treat mental illness and substance abuse in our communities is not a new conversation, and there is no one size fits all solution. One thing everyone seems to agree on is that it's easier to find solutions when we break through lingering prejudices about these subjects and directly address these issues in our communities. In Recovery: Conversations on Mental Health, NBC Connecticut spoke to individuals who live with mental illness, experts who try to understand and treat these conditions, and people who run programs trying to make living with any of these conditions easier each day.
- Watch the series here, and scroll down for mental health and crisis response resources
- Or, watch on your Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV device: add the NBC Connecticut channel to your collection, open the channel and select "Recovery: Conversations on Mental Health"
Mental Health Resources
If you are in crisis, and you live in Connecticut, you can call 2-1-1 and press 1 for help. If you are outside Connecticut you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting 'Home' to 741741.
There are many local and national mental health resources available to help those struggling, or their families and friends. The programs featured in this series are listed below.
Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, or DMHAS, is a large health care system that funds and operates many programs across the state, including inpatient treatment, outpatient treatment, recovery supports and partner organizations. If you are an adult in crisis and need immediate support, you can contact the ACTION line at 1-800-HOPE-135 (1-800.467.3135) or dial 211. For full information on the programs offered by town or city, visit the website here. For a list of warm lines available across the state, click here.
Ebony Horsewomen
Ebony Horsewomen is a unique urban riding center that offers the community various resources including riding programs, equine therapy and equine-assisted psychotherapy, youth programs, and more. You can contact Ebony Horsewomen at 860-293-2914 or by visiting ebonyhorsewomen.org.
Intercommunity, Inc.
Intercommunity, Inc. offers primary care, mental health care and additional recovery services in a variety of formats, including mobile crisis teams. You can contact Intercommunity at 860-569-5900 or by visiting intercommunityct.org. For mobile crisis, dial 211.
Musical Intervention
Musical Intervention is a community music program, studio and alcohol and drug-free safe space designed to help people better their lives. They offer an open-door policy to anyone looking to create original music, and hope to create a "bridge of connectivity to human health care." You can contact Musical Intervention at 203-676-4328, musicalintervention.com or by visiting the headquarters at 23 Temple St. in New Haven.
National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI CT
NAMI is a national grassroots organization dedicated to helping those with mental illness. They offer support groups, peer-to-peer support, advocacy, outreach and more. You can contact NAMI CT at 860-882-0236 or by visiting namict.org.
