Suicide - Truly Ensuring No One has to Face Crisis Alone
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Clara Reynolds, President & CEO
At the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, we consider ourselves to be the community’s social utility. Our work - ensuring that no one has to face crisis alone – is as important as other municipal utilities, like water, electricity and sanitation. The Crisis Center is our community’s gateway to help, hope and healing during a time of crisis or simply put, a time of challenge in someone’s life when they need help finding a solution. Many times, those challenges center around meeting basic needs – food, clothing, shelter. Other times, people come to us with issues focused on substance use problems, domestic violence, or sexual assault. But over the past year, we have seen an increase in our community members calling us because they are contemplating the biggest epidemic in America: suicide.
Read more from Clara by clicking below.
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Coping with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
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Paula was shocked when the therapist told her she had long-term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She always assumed PTSD was something soldiers experienced after returning home from war, not something a working mom struggles with. A local community therapist followed up the diagnosis by telling Paula she needed to go to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay for trauma-specific counseling.
Last year, Paula started receiving counseling from the Crisis Center’s Corbett Trauma Center. She disclosed to her counselor, Jackie, the many traumas she had experienced during her lifetime: her father was murdered, she was beaten, molested and raped by several people at different times, and she had been in an emotionally and physically abusive marriage. Now freed from her marriage, she was finally able to begin her journey of healing from years of traumatic events.
Read more about Paula's story by clicking below.
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Community Giving on a Personal and Corporate Level
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Terry and Carol Mullane with Ron Parks
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If you’ve driven around Tampa recently, you might have noticed a Parks branded car dealership. Owner Ron Parks and his General Manager, Terry Mullane, might be best known for selling cars across the city, but around the Crisis Center they’re known for their commitment to ensuring that no one in our community has to face crisis alone.
Terry and his wife Carol were first introduced to the Crisis Center by attending the annual fundraising breakfast, Cup of Compassion. After being involved for several years and becoming a board member, Terry knew the Crisis Center was an organization the Parks Motor Group needed to support on a corporate level. It was only natural that Terry’s business partner, Ron, would also get involved since he felt passionate about supporting the community.
Read more of Terry, Carol and Ron's story by clicking below.
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TransCare Launches Community Paramedicine Program
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With the help of a grant from Florida Blue, the Crisis Center’s TransCare Medical Transportation division launched its Community Paramedicine pilot program earlier this year. The focus of this new service is to work with community members who frequently utilize hospital emergency rooms for basic healthcare and get them connected to a primary care physician or other medical resources better suited for their needs.
Since beginning the new program, our paramedic has worked with 38 patients. All of these patients are living with a chronic illness of some kind, but were never properly educated on how to navigate their health issues. By meeting with these patients in their homes, the paramedic is able to assess their living situation to make sure they are in a safe environment that can meet all of their medical needs.
The majority of these patients work with our paramedic between 30 to 60 days and have weekly meetings or phone calls. When necessary, the paramedic will refer to other Crisis Center services to ensure that all of the patient’s needs are being met for both their physical and mental health. After just six months of running the program, we have already seen an 86% reduction in hospital visits from patients receiving this service. Our next goal is to hire additional staff for this team so we can expand the impact of the program further throughout Tampa.
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Connecting the Gateway: Tampa Bay Times & CENTRO Tampa
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The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay serves as the community's gateway to help, hope, and healing. Through a simple call to 2-1-1, people experiencing crisis and trauma can connect to over 3,000 services and programs. It's crucial that everyone in the Tampa Bay area know about this vital local resource!
The Tampa Bay Times and CENTRO Tampa are now running public services announcement ads to help create awareness about the valuable services the Crisis Center provides in the community. Many thanks to both publications for helping to spread the word!
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In an effort to serve community members who find themselves suddenly lacking transportation to an important appointment, United Way Worldwide has created Ride United. By teaming up with Lyft and community 2-1-1 call centers including the Crisis Center, United Way has distributed ride credits to be used when callers need transportation and have no other options. Rides are scheduled through contact center staff and Lyft credits can be used to transport a caller to a doctor’s appointment, counseling session, food pantry, job interview, or sexual assault exam.
Through the month of August, you can support this program by logging into your Lyft account, opting to round up your ride expenses, and choosing Ride United as your charity beneficiary. Supporting Ride United means someone in the community is one car ride closer to getting the help, hope, and healing that they need.
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Join us for the 5th Annual Beer and Bow Ties Event!
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Join us on
Friday, September 13th at Armature Works for the 5th annual Beer and Bow Ties event presented by the Spencer Hall Memorial Endowment for Mental Health. The event provides a taste of local foods and breweries, with 100% of the proceeds supporting the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay's suicide prevention services. Tickets can be purchased
HERE.
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4th Annual Speak Up 5k - Run, Walk or Stroll
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Join us on
Saturday, October 19th for the 4th annual Speak Up 5k! This 5k fun run/walk/stroll was created by the CKG Foundation to raise awareness and understanding of teenage depression and anxiety. A portion of the race proceeds are donated to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay to support our Gateway Contact Center. Sign up for the race
HERE.
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Take a Tour of the Crisis Center!
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Gateway to Healing Tours
Listen to stories about the people we help. See the facilities where we offer healing to clients. Hear about the urgent needs of the families we serve. Find ways to join us in making a difference in our community.
Thursday, August 8th
Tuesday, September 17th
12pm-1pm
To learn more and register,
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Thank you Corporate Partners!
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Thank you Crisis Center of Tampa Bay Funders!
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