NASSAU COUNTY, Fla — The past three months have taken an emotional toll on so many on the First Coast and across the United States. The pandemic, stay at home orders and the death of George Floyd, which has sparked weeks of protests, are major events that have caused a range of emotions.
"COVID-19 continues to impact Nassau County, the metro Jacksonville area, Florida, and the entire country. For more than two weeks, protests and anger have dominated the national conversation," said Dave Richardson, Public Information Officer with the Nassau County Emergency Operations Center. "In addition, the active start to the 2020 Hurricane Season has added to our collective anxiety."
On Friday, June 11 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., Nassau County Emergency Management will host a mental health roundtable discussion on Facebook Live moderated by First Coast News Anchor Heather Crawford. A panel of local mental health experts will answer your questions live on the @NassauEM Facebook page and First Coast News Facebook page and offer their advice as well as share resources to help you. They will be talking about everything from an increase in domestic violence and substance abuse to coping with feelings of isolation and fear.
You can submit your questions to the panel by calling (904) 548-0949 or through social media, including Facebook and Twitter @NassauEM at anytime now until the end of the Facebook Live Friday afternoon.
The panelists include:
Dr. Laureen Pagel – CEO of Starting Point Behavioral Healthcare, a community-based behavioral health treatment agency in Northeast Florida. Dr. Pagel currently serves as an Executive Board member for the Florida Behavioral Health Association and has been a Board member of the Florida Certification Board since 2008. She was also recently was re-elected to serve on the Board of Directors for Mental Health Corporation of America. Among Dr. Pagel's many achievements, she recently implemented a 24/7 Mobile Response Team for persons in crisis to reduce Baker Acts and suicides in Nassau County.
Katrina Robinson-Wheeler – Community Liaison and Mental Health First Aid Instructor and Educator at Starting Point Behavioral Healthcare. Katrina holds a Master's degree in Mental Health Counseling. She developed Starting Point's Women's Program. She has trained over 2500 Mental Health First Aiders in Northeast Florida and was recently ranked among the top 100 Mental Aid instructors nationwide two years in a row out of 13,000 instructors.
Cassie Ott – Outreach Director at Micah's Place Domestic Violence Center in Nassau County. She started as an advocate for Micah's Place emergency shelter and then organized a prevention program in local schools. Her specialties include violence prevention, trauma-informed advocacy, and adverse childhood experiences education.
Jim Tippins – A Master's degree in Divinity, a Board Certified Chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains and a Certified Bereavement Counselor. He works as a Chaplain for Community Hospice and Palliative Care of Northeast Florida and specializes in bereavement, loss, suicide survivors, and end of life decision-making.
"Our hope is that this panel can help residents begin to deal with the emotions and behaviors intensified by recent events and provide additional resources during the Mental Health Roundtable," said Richardson.
Help is available. Here is a list of resources you can reach out to 24/7.
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-TALK (8255)
National Suicide Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
Starting Point Behavioral Healthcare 24/7 Child/Adolescent Crisis Line: 904-580-0529
Starting Point Behavioral Healthcare 24/7 Adult Crisis Line: 904-206-1756
Micah's Place Domestic Violence Center 24/7 Helpline (Call or Text): 904-225-9979
