Organizations that serve the homeless in North Texas are increasingly offering mental health care services in addition to traditional assistance such as food and warming centers.
Dallas-based organizations Our Calling and the Austin Street Center facility have multiple mental health care providers on a daily basis.
Teresa Thomas, spokesperson for Austin Street, said many people who visit the center are not necessarily dealing with severe mental illness, but they are suffering emotionally.
“Everyone at Austin Street Center is grieving something they’ve lost. So they’ve lost their jobs, they’ve lost their homes, they’ve lost their loved ones,” Thomas said. “Then unfortunately they can’t handle it.”
Thomas and Wayne Walker, CEOs and pastors of Our Calling in Dallas, emphasized that people experiencing homelessness experience a lot of trauma while living on the streets. They say months and years of not feeling safe and not being able to rest create a fragile mental state.
“Many of them are abused and assaulted on a weekly basis, and some are abused on a daily basis,” said Walker. “This is a trauma that people are dealing with in their lives that causes emotional, mental, physical and mental health crises that go far beyond what most people think of as the experience of homelessness. I have.”
Our Calling staff are trained by mental health care providers to better prepare for the scenarios they will encounter.
The city of Denton, which recently opened a new community shelter, is also determined to address the mental health concerns of its homeless population.
Wendy McGee, executive director of Our Daily Bread, which runs the shelter, said the new facility will provide on-site medical services that were not provided at the previous location.
The new shelter also includes classrooms, workstations, a communications center, and semi-private rooms where people can attend virtual doctor visits and job interviews.
McGee said her staff know how health affects a person’s ability to secure and maintain independence.
“We hope to continue expanding this wellness program to help connect people with their primary care providers,” McGee said, to address acute and chronic conditions.
Despite the growing importance of mental health services at homeless centers, Walker with Our Calling found that mental health was not the biggest predictor of homelessness and the lack of a support community to turn to during a crisis. It is said that
“There are more people with mental health issues living in their homes than they are on the streets,” he said. “There are more people with addiction problems living in Dallas homes than there are on the streets.”
Any tips? Email her Mya Nicholson at [email protected].
Mya Nicholson produces reports for KERA’s Government Accountability Team. She is North She is studying Broadcast Journalism at the University of Texas.
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