A nonprofit organization is sending trained mental health providers to children and youth to aid them through crises.
Gulf Coast Social Services Regional Director Brandy Lirette said the nonprofit has an emergency response service that will respond within the hour to any child or youth’s self-defined crisis. The Youth Mobile Crisis Response has 11 employees trained through Louisiana State University to handle the situation.
Any youth or child up to the age of 20 facing a self defined crisis can call (985) 370-6026, or simply 988, and be aided in their time of need. There are no costs associated with it, and the program services seven parishes: Lafourche, Terrebonne, Assumption, St. Mary, St. James, St. Charles and St. John the Baptist.
“We try to meet them where they are, if that makes any sense. We are not trying to pull them into our world and change their mind about the way they are feeling,” Lirette said. “There’s no limit on the amount of times that a youth can call us.”
The Youth Mobile Crisis Response can be called for any self defined crisis, Lirette said. Examples include grief caused by a death in the family, bullying, a break up, substance abuse or parents going through a divorce. Lirette said no crisis is too big or too small. Anyone, she added, can call on the youth’s behalf.
After a brief intake questionnaire over the phone, the response team of two arrives to meet with the youth in less than an hour. The brief phone call is to ensure the safety of all parties involved.
“We want to get there as fast as we can, because talking to them over the phone is not going to save them,” Lirette said. “We need to really connect with them in person.”
More: Reformed tax policies to stricter voting rights: New Louisiana laws take effect in 2025
More: Can Trump rename the Gulf of Mexico? Here’s what he wants to call it
If there is a gun involved, she said, the response team often will go still, but law enforcement will accompany them. The goal, however, is to not involve law enforcement.
“That can be a trigger in itself for many youths,” she said.
The three-step process looks to head off a situation before law enforcement has to get involved. It begins by de-escalating a situation, talking the person through the immediate feelings and getting a sense of what they are going through. Responders then speak with the person about what comes next, and make plans for the future. Finally, the crisis responders connect the child or teen and their family with local community resources. If none exist in the area, Lirette said, Gulf Coast Social Services will step in to become that caregiver.
The Youth Mobile Crisis Response was founded the day before Thanksgiving through a grant by the Louisiana Department of Health.
This article originally appeared on The Courier: Seven parish program provides mental health aid to youths in crises