MHA News
December 2011
Please remember that MHA's clients depend on services supported by generous contributions from neighbors like you. Please make MHA one of the organizations you select for your year-end charitable contributions.
Click on "DONATE NOW" to put those dollars to work right now.
What's New with MHA's HOPES (Hotline, Outreach & Programming for Emotional Support) Program?
HOPES (Hotline, Outreach & Programming for Emotional Support) provides services to all members of the community. The program seeks to increase community awareness and opportunities to make a difference in the lives of people touched by mental illnesses. Services include: The Montgomery County Hotline which is a free, confidential 24-hour hotline offering crisis & suicide intervention, prevention and postvention, information and referral and supportive listening; "Red Flags" which is a depression and suicide awareness program that serves middle and high schools throughout Montgomery County; and Specialized Information and Referral Services which currently focuses on providing information and referrals to veterans, active military and their family members.
Hotline Services Aren't Just By Phone Any More?
Help4MDYouth.org is an initiative of the Maryland Youth Crisis Hotline Network. Currently, there are five (5) centers participating in the Maryland Crisis Hotline Network, one of these centers is MHA of Montgomery County through the HOPES program. The service is a confidential, secure and anonymous place to talk about problems and stress that may be difficult to talk about anywhere else. It is a place for anyone concerned about youth who are going through a hard time or are thinking about suicide. It is available 4pm-9pm Monday through Friday. For more information or to access this service, go to http://www.help4mdyouth.org or www.facebook.com/Help4MDYouth.
Sounds like a great new initiative, but what about the telephone calls? How many calls do the Hotlines answer? What are the calls about?
As a part of HOPES' Hotline Services, it answers calls to three hotlines: the Montgomery County Hotline (301)738-CALL (2255), the Youth Hotline (301) 738-9697 and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The program also runs a Specialized Information and Referral Service currently focused on providing information and referrals to veterans, active military and their family members. During Fiscal Year 2011 (July 1, 2010 - June 30, 2011), HOPES answered 16,038 calls to the three hotlines. Callers often cite more than one issue on a call, so each call may be counted in more than one "caller issue" area. For Fiscal Year 2011, the top three reasons for calls include Mental Health issues (30%) like Schizophrenia, Depression and/or Anxiety; General Stressors (29%) like loneliness, social or personal relationships and/or financial stress; and Physical Health (17%) like insomnia/other sleep issues, chronic health issues and/or other physical health issues.
Who is calling the Hotlines?
For fiscal year 2011 (July 1, 2010 - June 30, 2011), caller demographics were:
- 59% of callers were female and 41% were male
- Caller ages range from teens to older adults, but the highest percentages of callers range from 60-69 years of age (29%), 50-59 years of age (24%) and 40-49 years of age (23%). The lowest percentages are for 13-17 years of age, 18-24 years of age and 80-89 years of age
- Race/Ethnicity statistics of callers:
For more information about MHA's HOPES Program or any of its services click here or call (301) 424-0656, ext. 516.
NOTE: This is not the HOPES Hotline Number
A Closer Look:
HOPES Hotline is Helping People - Callers in Their Own Words
"I am so grateful that you picked up. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here to talk to me."
"Sometimes I just need to talk and I don't want to call anyone else at 10:30 at night... I don't have a mom to vent to."
"You have been a great help. I feel like you're really listening to me."
"I just wanted to say how grateful I am to all of you there [at the hotline] because I always feel better after I get off the phone."
"Thank you so much, you've been a great help with your suggestions and for listening"
You can help make a difference in the lives of callers.
For more information about becoming a HOPES Hotline volunteer, click here.
Winter Continuing Education Event:
Working with Older Adults
Senior Adults & Sexuality:
What Every Mental Health Provider Should Know
(& may be afraid to ask)
Thursday, February 2, 2012
| Speaker: | Susan Milstein, Ed.D. in Human Sexuality Education |
| Times: | 8:00 – 8:30am Check-in and Continental Breakfast 8:30-3:30am Program (lunch on your own, light refreshments in the afternoon) |
| Location: | Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, MD |
| CEUs: | 6.0 CEUs for Counselors and Social Workers (click here for important Continuing Education info) |
| Fees: | $120 Member Fee, $150 Non-member Fee (no student fee available for this event) Walk-in Fee (if seats are available) $15 |
| More Information > |
Seeking Applicants for a College Scholarship
The Sherry S. Hintz Scholarship Fund was created by an anonymous Montgomery County resident in memory of several women in her family who lost their lives to breast cancer. The fund provides college scholarship awards to students who have lost a parent/guardian to breast or ovarian cancer. The Fund is administered through The Community Foundation for Montgomery County in partnership with Mental Health Association of Montgomery County (MHA).
There are many requirements which MUST be met to be eligible for this scholarship and they should be reviewed carefully prior to making application. For a description of the eligibility requirements and the award, click here. For the scholarship application, click here. All applications and attachments must be postmarked by March 5, 2012 for consideration.
Thank you for your partnership in helping people right here in this community!
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Thank you so very much for your interest in MHA, its programs and services. We hope that you have enjoyed this e-newsletter and that you will share it with others.
Please remember that MHA depends on contributions from supporters like you to continue offering its valuable programs and services to members of this community. Please make MHA one of the organizations you select for your charitable contributions.
Click on "Donate Now" to put those dollars to work right now or
mail your contribution to 1000 Twinbrook Parkway - Rockville, MD 20851.
THANK YOU!!!