Need for mental health services rises - can you Lend a Hand?
BRAINTREE – Through the COVID-19 pandemic, a national labor shortage and an influx of patients, Aspire Health Alliance continues to provide mental health services for South Shore residents.
Money made available through The Patriot Ledger's annual Lend a Hand holiday program has gone a long way toward assisting Aspire clients, not only last year but in years past.
Aspire spokesperson Janice Sullivan praised the generosity of Ledger readers in 2020 in particular when many stepped up to donate during a financially turbulent year. She said Aspire was able to distribute more than 600 gift cards to clients from the money sent to the agency by Lend a Hand.
"It's humbling sometimes the basic necessities that people ask for help," Sullivan said.
She said in the past, money received through Lend a Hand has helped clients who need clothes for job interviews, car repairs or things as simple as food.
More: How to contribute to The Patriot Ledger’s Lend a Hand fund
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Sullivan said one client who requested help is a single dad struggling with mental health issues. He and his son, who also has mental health issues, lost much of their furniture this summer because of mold, and now they're trying to find new furniture.
"It's great for the client, it's one piece of stress that gets alleviated a little bit," Sullivan said of the Lend a Hand help.
What does Aspire do?
The community mental health center provides services across the South Shore, including Quincy, Braintree, Plymouth and Marshfield. They range from outpatient mental health services to a day treatment program for adults to drop-in youth programs.
Aspire has emergency services for 11 towns on the South Shore that are available 24/7 every day. For those with severe mental illness who might otherwise be homeless or institutionalized, Aspire also provides residential services.
Some Aspire clinicians work with local police departments to provide mental health resources when needed.
"The police departments across Massachusetts and the ones that we're working with have invested a lot of time and energy into educating officers about mental health issues," said Sullivan.
The need for mental health resources is rising
Aspire's challenges are compounded by a dearth of workers as burnout and the labor shortage hit close to home, Sullivan said.
Along with other front-line professions over the past two years, health care professionals, including mental health workers, are bearing the brunt of burnout.
"We're kind of in this really tough spot right now," Sullivan said. Current conditions under the pandemic seem like "nothing I think any of us have ever seen," she said.
Meanwhile, the need for mental health services continues to rise, making those in the profession even busier.
"The number of children in the emergency room waiting for services have exponentially grown," Sullivan said. "It's just so hard because you know that there are people in pain in the community.
"(The clinicians have) taken on higher levels of pain. They're exhausted, and they're leaving."
The kind of stress clients are now coming to Aspire with is also more complex, Sullivan said. Just like with physical health, many clients have put off preventive care during the pandemic.
Patients are coming in with more intense needs, she said, requiring more work from clinicians, especially those who staff Aspire's 24/7 services.
Providing care from afar
Although telehealth has become more common, it has drawbacks – for example, clients need a safe, quiet space at home with an adequate internet connection – but the growth of online services has helped Aspire reach patients where they are, Sullivan said.
"It provided flexibility for our clinicians to offer evening services," Sullivan said. "People were engaged in services more."
Lend a Hand, The Patriot Ledger's annual holiday charitable program, began in 1998 and has raised more than $3.3 million for South Shore families and people in need. The Patriot Ledger distributes money primarily to three established community service agencies: Quincy Community Action Programs, South Shore Community Action Council and Aspire Health Alliance.
For more information on Aspire Health Alliance, visit aspirehealthalliance.org.
Here’s how you can contribute to Lend a Hand
Clip the coupon published in The Patriot Ledger, fill out all the fields, write a check or money order and mail it to:
Lend a Hand
The Patriot Ledger
3 Webster Square
PMB #467
Marshfield, MA 02050
Or call our friends at Ansaphone at 617-424-9825 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Or donate securely online though PayPal. Search: Ledger Lend a Hand Foundation.
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Reach Alex Weliever at aweliever@patriotledger.com.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Donate to help Aspire Health Alliance provide mental health resources
