Take action: If you or someone you know is struggling or experiencing a mental health crisis, you can now call or text 988 for immediate support. The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides people with a trained crisis counselor to talk them through a crisis. In some situations, the lifeline may dispatch emergency services to come help the person directly.
RHHD’s Community Health Assessment (CHA) revealed three major areas where residents saw big health challenges:
- Community Safety and Violence Prevention
- Chronic Disease
- Mental Health, including Substance Use Disorder
Today, we’re focusing on Mental Health. More than 30% of you said that mental health concerns—including anxiety, depression, and self-harm—were one of the biggest health issues currently facing our communities.
The Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) will help RHHD decide how to address this important issue. A first important step is the Richmond and Henrico Regional Resource Guide to Substance Use and Behavioral and Mental Health. The guide provides a detailed list of service facilities that address substance use, along with mental health and behavioral health. The tool is the result of a year of hard work from Anna Back, Elle Merkle, and Lashawnda Singleton. RHHD’s Director of Community Programs Margo Webb calls this trio “invaluable” because of their expertise and their willingness to ask deep questions across our community.
Why does the guide focus on substance use AND mental health?
Data show that people with mental health illnesses may be more likely to experience Substance Use Disorder, too. A “co-occurring disorder” is when someone has to navigate substance use disorder and a mental health illness at the same time. SAMHSA estimates that 21.5 million Americans experience co-occurring disorders.
RHHD’s Clinical Social Worker Supervisor, D’atra Franklin, has experience working with people experiencing substance use disorder. “Many individuals turn to substances as a way to cope with untreated mental health issues, leading to a cycle that exacerbates both conditions,” she explains. By integrating mental health treatment into SUD interventions, we can improve outcomes, reduce stigma, and allocate resources more effectively. Ultimately, recognizing and treating these co-occurring disorders is essential for fostering healthier populations and reducing healthcare costs in the long run.”
What does the guide do?
Margo says that the guide is useful for people who need a combination of substance use and mental health resources: “Because substance use and mental health run together for many reasons, it can be hard to distinguish how best to treat those things. We need to untangle what mental health means for each individual and to understand the landscape of what’s available. The guide attempts to lay out some of those steps.”
Why does public health need to focus on mental health?
Margo explains that mental health connects to other CHA priority areas like community safety and chronic disease. “There are so many ways that mental health permeates our society,” she says. “All crises in my opinion have multiple layers. Your individual situation affects your family. When enough families are affected, that’s a neighborhood. Mental health threads through the fabric of humanity, so it’s definitely in our wheelhouse.”
“In public health, we always talk about holistic health, so that means everything—head to toenails, inside out. I think mental health is definitely public health.”
How can I get involved?
For Margo, the guide is an important first step, but it “can’t always capture the reality of the process.” As RHHD embarks on Community Health Improvement Planning, resident participation can help us learn what is and is not working for our community members. “Starting with people is always the best place to begin,” Margo says.
Do you have ideas about how to support community mental health or how to reduce the impact of substance use disorder? If so, you can join RHHD’s Community Health Improvement Planning Committee by filling out this interest form!