One of Our Place’s clients speaks with Phoenix O’Connor at KTVH about living with mental illness and the shortage of healthcare providers
https://www.ktvh.com/news/us-news/two-americas/montana-seeing-a-shortage-of-mental-health-providers
This article was published about Ryan Lehman, Good Samaritan’s Street Outreach Coordinator, in Florence Crittenton’s 2020 Annual Report about his journey through sobriety and getting custody of his kids back full-time. We are so proud of how far he has come and so grateful to call him part of our team! Click below to read the full article!
All of you that help support Good Samaritan are helping us fight this. Every day we are working to get the homeless into shelter, the addicted proper treatment to prevent jails, institutions, and death. YOU help give the hopeless hope and the tools for a better tomorrow. THANK YOU.
https://www.city-journal.org/olympia-washington-mental-hospitals
St. Pete’s works with Good Samaritan to provide safe stable housing to those in need
Together, Courtney and Sue filled out dozens of applications for housing. And, Courtney helped connect Sue to Good Samaritan Ministries, a local nonprofit committed to providing services to meet the physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs of individuals and families of all faith, especially those most in need. Good Samaritan was able to provide housing vouchers and support thanks to a grant from the CARES Act.
“When I first met Sue, she was going through a lot. She was experiencing lots and lots of emotions related to her medical concerns, on top of the housing stress,” said Courtney. “I was able to connect her to our behavioral health professionals and then get her connected to temporary housing through a grant from Good Samaritan. Those have been the most beneficial things in the time that we’ve worked together.”
God empowers all, especially those who are vulnerable, to stand up for themselves and protect their dignity. Subsidiarity—the participation of the people directly affected by a problem in the solution-making process—is a way for us to affirm the dignity of all persons, especially at home in our communities. A key element of breaking the cycle of poverty is empowering low-income and vulnerable communities to learn how to raise their own voices and practice self-determination. In Catholic social teaching, subsidiarity is always paired with solidarity. Higher powers or institutions, such as government, must provide help and resources so that communities have the resources to address the problems that affect them.
MONTANA – Governor Steve Bullock today announced a new crisis counseling hotline funded by a $1.6 million federal grant is now available to aid Montanans struggling with their mental health due to the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
“We know Montanans in every corner of the state have been impacted by this virus in various ways and I’m pleased this hotline is available to support anyone in need,” Governor Bullock said. “I encourage Montanans to use the hotline now to receive confidential assistance and get connected to the appropriate services in their community.”
The Montana Crisis Recovery hotline is funded and available for at least the next nine months. Montanans in need of crisis counseling can call 1-877-503-0833 to receive free and confidential counseling services from trained crisis counselors Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The free service is meant to help people navigate feelings of isolation, loss, fear, uncertainty, depression, and anxiety they are experiencing during this time. The new service is available to all Montanans, with target populations identified as healthcare workers and first responders, school officials, veterans, elderly individuals, Native Americans, and farmers and ranchers.
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) partnered with Disaster and Emergency Services to pursue the grant to address the growing need for mental health services.
“As COVID-19 cases rise across Montana, the impacts on mental health can be devastating to a wide range of the population,” Zoe Barnard, DPHHS Addictive and Mental Disorders Division Administrator, said. “A crisis counselor can offer an empathetic ear and provide support.”
Counselors on the other end of the line will be there to listen without judgement, offer emotional support, comfort, console, offer information and education on stress and coping, and direct callers to additional support and community resources. DPHHS is contracting with Mental Health America of Montana to manage the hotline. The phone line, when fully staffed, will include 12 trained crisis counselors. Efforts are currently under way to recruit and hire two counselors who are Tribal members.
In addition to Mental Health America of Montana, DPHHS will work closely with four additional project partners including the Montana Hospital Association, Voices of Hope, Kauffman & Associates Inc., and the Montana Public Health Institute. The team will work together to hire counselors and will provide outreach to communities across the state through this opportunity.
The grant is provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Other mental health resources that are already available to Montanans include the Montana Crisis Text Line, Montana Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Montana Warmline and Thrive by Waypoint Health.
The Crisis Text Line is available 24/7 by texting MT to 741 741; the Montana Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 800-273-TALK (8255); the Warmline is available Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday noon to 9 p.m. at 877-688-3377; and information about Thrive by Waypoint Health, an online cognitive behavioral therapy for those actively working to manage anxiety and stress, is available at https://thriveformontana.com/
Over the past several months, DPHHS has expanded these services to assist Montanans through the ongoing pandemic.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues various support systems have been implemented to help people make it through this crisis. Even with the numerous grants and other programs, no system is perfect and some in need have been left without support.
Good Samaritan Ministries in Helena has been there to catch people who fell through the cracks in the system and help them avoid crisis, including those they employ.
Marvin Colman manages Our Place, a drop-in center overseen by Good Samaritan that provides a place for people dealing with mental health challenges, homelessness or other struggles find support.
The pandemic caused Colman and his family to need the same type of support.
“When the shutdown first happened, there was just so much need in the community we couldn’t close. So we laid off our employees, I stayed working 25 to 30 hours a week,” said Colman.
Colman spent the beginning of the pandemic mainly delivering food and groceries to people who couldn’t pick it up themselves.
By working that much, although reduced, Colman didn’t qualify for unemployment benefits. He’s also a student right now, which means he didn’t qualify for the federal stimulus money.
“Then the avalanche started where I just couldn’t pay everything each month, and eventually got to the point where I was so far behind I had to make the decision of do I keep the power on or do I pay the rent,” explained Colman.
Colman helps hundreds of people each week with finding housing, job services, peer support rides and food delivery. Yet he himself still struggled with admitting he needed help.
“It’s unfortunately part of our culture and so that’s where I found myself, even though I am a hard worker,” Colman said. “It was a little humbling at first, but then I thought ‘this happened, it was beyond your control, go ask!’ which was the hardest thing to do.”
Good Samaritan’s assistance ministries were able to help Colman with his rent, and began getting out of the ever deepening hole he had found himself in.
“Once I got my rent paid I could focus on all of the other bills coming in,” Colman said. “It gave me a month to get back on my feet. Then we opened, my hours went back to normal and I’m slowly digging out.”
Colman’s story is similar to the hundreds of families Good Samaritan helps every week. Most found themselves in mounting debt due to unforeseen circumstances.
Executive Director Theresa Ortega says the COVID-19 pandemic has been a difficult time for the organization, but one they’re adapting to.
“Even though our Thrift Store had closed, our Assistance Ministry never stopped,” said Ortega. “We provided services online to get people connected with different agencies to arrange for a place to stay or what their needs were.”
Good Samaritan can assist people with childcare, vehicle repair, dental, household items, toiletries and more.
The nonprofit was able to meet those needs during the pandemic thanks to the Paycheck Protection Program from SBA, and a $10,000 COVID Relief grant from the State of Montana.
The parable of the Good Samaritan tells the story of a man giving aid to someone in need, and expecting nothing in return.
Ortega says they will continue to live up to their namesake and help all in need they can, even long after the pandemic has passed.
“We like to follow our services to serve the most in need throughout our community, the whole aspect of that. Those usually are the people that are ill, or downtrodden or homeless and we’ll keep going no matter what,” said Ortega.
The Good Samaritan Thrift Store is back up to their regular hours,and accepting donation on Tuesdays, Tuesdays and Saturdays.
More information about the services Good Samaritan Ministries provides, and how to support their mission can be found here.
Emergency housing assistance is also avalible through the State COVID Relief Fund. More information and how to apply can be found here.
The staff at Good Samaritan recognizes Ara Babcock, who was recently named the daily winner for the Maui Jim Hero Program. The program honors first responders, nurses and health care professionals for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Congratulations, Ara!
Foundation for the Diocese of Helena
Good Samaritan staff and volunteers would like to sincerely thank the Foundation for the Diocese of Helena for its generous award of $1800.
With the Foundation’s help Good Samaritan was able to acquire a new printer with a tabber for optimizing our mailings and newsletters. We worked with a local office technology store to get the best price possible. Our new printer will greatly reduce staff time and speed up preparation of mailings, newsletter and other literature.
The tabber isn’t the only benefit of the new printer. The print quality is higher, it prints faster and can stack directly into mailing flats. It has many advanced features we are excited to start using.
This amazing new tool has enabled us to share our mission and spread the word about the amazing work Good Sam does in our community.
Thank you to the Foundation for the Diocese of Helena.
To learn more about the Foundation, its grant program, and endowments, please call the parish office or Jeanne Saarinen at the Foundation – 1-800-584-8914 ext. 36 or [email protected]
