Now, a new mobile application seeks to prevent another such tragedy from happening by putting vital information about mental illness — including signs and symptoms and how to seek help — right in people’s hands.
The Center for Health Care Services on Wednesday unveiled Mental Health & You (MHU), an innovative crisis intervention tool that seeks to educate the public about mental illness and provide local and national resources for early intervention and treatment.
“We know that one in four people will be diagnosed with a mental illness in this country, but most go untreated,” said Leon Evans, executive director of the center who was the brainchild behind the new app. “We know that people with mental illness are more likely to be victims of violent crime, rather than perpetrators of it.”
He ticked off the shootings at Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Aurora, California and Tucson, noting that in each case, someone — a roommate, a friend, a loved one — knew the person needed help, but they didn’t know what to do.
“With MHU, we can get people the help they need before they hurt someone else,” he said.
The free app is downloadable on the iPhone or at www.mentalhealthu.com.
On the site, users will find much information, including the signs and symptoms of mental disorders such as anxiety, depression and schizophrenia, as well as attention-deficit disorder, substance abuse and post-traumatic-stress-syndrome.
Other areas of the site include “stigma-busters” — information that aims to dispel misinformation that surrounds mental illness — as well as famous people who’ve struggled with a mental health issue, from Abe Lincoln to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Another part of the app provides names of movies that have depicted mental illness, from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to Silver Linings Playbook.
Most importantly, the app provides a wealth of local and national resources, said Allison Greer, vice president of external relations for the center.
“These are live links to groups like the National Alliance for Mental Illness and the San Antonio Coalition for Veterans and Families,” she said.
Hitting the “get help now” red button will connect users to a local hotline staffed by center personnel who are specifically trained in mental health issues. If deemed necessary, hotline staff will dispatch a mobile crisis intervention outreach team to the location of a person who is struggling.
Evans said that a majority of police and sheriff forces in Bexar County have been trained in crisis intervention, in which they learn how to respond to situations involving a mentally ill person in crisis.
“For example, they know not to use their ‘command voice,’” he said.
In life-threatening emergencies, another button on the app links directly to 911 services, Greer said.
The new app was more than a year in the making, Evans said. “We’re going to take this to PTAs, businesses, schools,” he said, adding that his team also plans to make presentations to mental health groups across the nation.
©2014 the San Antonio Express-News. Distributed by MCT Information Services.
