ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - A drop-in center for adults with mental illness is making it easier for people to get the services they need.
The Stewart-Marchman-Act Behavioral Healthcare Drop in Center in St. Augustine recently started a shuttle service.
The drop-in center is more social than clinical, providing people with a chance to get out of their homes and make friends who understand them.
“We’ve found that when they make friends here and they help each other, that’s one of the most useful things that they can do here,” Beth Reese, social worker and Drop in Center coordinator, said. “Because they’re available to help each other around the clock.”
The center has been open for two years and has seen about 200 people come through its doors.
But Reese noticed a problem; if people didn’t have an easy way to get to the center, they often wouldn’t come. Public transportation can be daunting for people with mental illnesses.
“If you have a client that’s very paranoid or very anxious, it’s just gonna be too much for them to do that,” Reese said.
Now, Reese uses a van from the organization’s outpatient clinic to run a shuttle service. She spends about an hour and a half running a loop to pick people up in the morning and drops them off again in the afternoon.
Judy Kurfiss used to live in Palatka and would have to take a cab followed by two buses in order to get to the Drop in Center. She recently moved to St. Augustine and is grateful to have easy transportation to the center, which she goes to frequently.
“It’s a place where it’s comforting, if you have any problems you can talk to anybody and they don’t judge you,” Kurfiss said.
Kurfiss told First Coast News she is bipolar, and initially had a difficult time communicating with others when she was getting used to her medications. She credited the Drop in Center with improving her social skills.
“It made me more open and ready to meet new people,” Kurfiss said.
Kim Towers has been regularly going to the Drop in Center for about five weeks. She, too, frequently takes the shuttle.
“I actually have a release of being able to have people to talk to,” Towers said. “Because when I feel like I have nowhere or nobody to speak with at home, I feel like I can here.”
Anyone wanting to ride the shuttle must first stop by the Drop in Center, located at 920 State Road 16 in St. Augustine. For more information you can contact the center at 904-770-2960 or 904-547-2215.
The shuttle makes the following stops, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday:
FL Department of Health, San Sebastian View
Dunkin Donuts, SR 16/I-95
Majestic Trailer Park, 1254 Cypress Rd
Publix Cobblestone, SR 312
Burger King, US 1
Flagler Hospital
Dunes Apartments, 1555 A1A S
Post Office, Downtown
Family Dollar, West King St.
Coquina Oaks Trailer Park, 950 Sidney Street