As Mental Health Month 2012 draws to a close, I hope that you’ve had the chance to use our resources, take advantage of our services, or attend one of our many events at the Mental Health Association of Palm Beach County. In May alone, hundreds of people called for referrals to care, dropped into Peer Place Support Center, got support from our mentors, were screened for mental health needs by our clinical professionals, were trained on integrating behavioral health and primary care, or attended at least one of our Lunch and Learn programs.
But there’s so much more we all need to do to meet the growing need.
If you have a few minutes, please read the column Iraq and Back. Link: http://pgionfriddo.blogspot.com/2012/05/iraq-and-back-veterans-experience.html
It was published just this month, and speaks to the sometimes tragic delays returning veterans have faced throughout the country in trying to obtain needed mental health evaluations and services. A warning: the story of William Hamilton’s fate in particular isn’t for the weak of heart.
As you read it, I hope you will keep something in mind. No one who seeks help from the Mental Health Association of Palm Beach County experiences a delay in obtaining support services from us. Veterans and non-veterans alike can walk into our Peer Place Support Center and receive immediate peer support, including both veterans-only and general public support groups. Everyone who calls MHAPBC looking for help can be scheduled for a mental health and basic needs screening within a day and referred to an available community mental health professional or treatment center at once. And people who just need information right away can find scores of resources on our web site or in our office, and a MHAPBC staffperson or volunteer eager to help via telephone or in person.
Our fiscal year ends in June, and we need your support now more than ever to bring this year to a successful close. 
Whether you’ve given to MHAPBC or had to direct your charitable dollars elsewhere during the past few months and years, I hope that today you will give serious consideration to making a special contribution to MHAPBC so that we can continue our work for our county’s children, families, and veterans touched by mental illnesses. To Donate: https://www.mhapbc.org/make_donation
or call us at 561-832-3755.
Thank you,
Pam