Clara Reynolds, President & CEO
In 2013, the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay began to experience a significant increase in the number of crisis calls by veterans. These veterans and their families were looking for help – they needed food, rent assistance, and other basic needs. They also needed behavioral health services – substance abuse, depression, PTSD treatment. However, when these veterans would ask our Intervention Specialist if they themselves were veterans, 9 times out of 10, we had to say no. And usually, the veteran would say thank you and hang up. You see, a veteran in crisis really wants to speak to another veteran, a peer, who understands the veteran experience. From these experiences, the Crisis Center created the Florida Veterans Support Line (1-844-MYFLVET) in 2014, a line for veterans and their families answered by veterans.
From 2014-2016, the Florida Veterans Support Line covered Hillsborough and the four surrounding counties thanks to a legislative appropriation. When that appropriation ended in June 2016, the Department of Children and Families recognized the need to continue this valuable program that was touching over 3,000 veterans a year who were in some form of crisis. In 2017, we received another special, legislative appropriation to expand the phone number across the state in addition to some advertising funding. We saw calls to the Florida Veterans Support Line explode to over 10,000 calls a year!!! What is so surprising is that 58% of calls were from veterans looking for behavioral health services. But what was truly amazing was that 33% of those calls were veterans who were actively suicidal.
In 2018, the Veterans Administration (VA), learned about the success of the Florida Veterans Support Line and on September 28, 2018, a five year contract was executed to expand the services offered through the line statewide. In addition, those VA funds were matched by the Department of Children and Families through a contract that was executed on January 10, 2019, creating a comprehensive system for veterans and their families to receive not only crisis intervention, but care coordination as well!!!
Why does all this matter, you ask? Because in our country, 20 veterans a day die by suicide. Since 2014, the Florida Veterans Support Line has been providing help, hope and healing to struggling veterans and their families. In other words, the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, in partnership with other 2-1-1 centers across our state, is honoring our nation’s commitment to our veterans. No veteran or their family should have to face a crisis alone and thanks to the Florida Veterans Support Line, they don’t have to!
To every veteran and their family, thank you for your service!
Clara
