Albany County is expanding its mental health services to mark Mental Health Awareness Month.
In Albany Tuesday, County Executive Dan McCoy touted two new vans and three staffers for the county’s Mobile Outreach, Treatment, and Overdose Response program.
With the replacement of an older vehicle, McCoy says it means MOTOR will be able to better serve more areas in the county.
The effort is supported by the county Department of Mental Health.
The Democrat also celebrated the addition of a Health Home Case Manager through the March On program, backed by the county legislature, to help prevent veteran suicide.
An Army veteran and current New York Army National Guardsman, McCoy says it’s a topic that hits close to home.
“Unfortunately, I've had too many people, but six close friends commit suicide, and each time, ‘I'm not going to let it happen again. I'm not going to let it happen again.’ And you listen and you try and you try and you try. But if that person's not opening up, it's hard, right?” McCoy said.
McCoy says one in five American adults experience serious mental illness and veteran suicides average nearly 18 a day nationally.
“Sometimes you just got to listen to somebody and just understand what they're going through. And you can kind of read through and navigate. And it's hard, right? It's hard to sit there and say, I understand what they're going through and not worry about yourself for once, or talk about yourself for once, but just take the time to listen and be objective. Don't write the narrative,” McCoy said.
McCoy also promoted new suicide awareness signage going up at Lawson Lake and the county Rail Trail. He says while it’s a good start, more is better.
“You'll probably see at the College of Saint Rose, eventually, just signs. So people that are walking, getting their heads clear, and they're in a dark spot, they can read a sign, and that sign might change the projection of where they were headed. You know, they're saying there'll be little apps on there, you know, they can go to the app, they can go get help, there’s support things,” McCoy said.
County Mental Health Commissioner Stephen Giordano says Mental Health Awareness Month is a reminder that people should practice self-care.
“It's estimated that only 50 percent of the people in our country who could benefit from behavioral health or mental health services actually receives it, and that's for a lot of different reasons, but our primary obstacles remain stigma and limited access in certain parts of our nation, and we work on those issues every day,” Giordano said.
The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is 988.
