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Alvis

National Mental Health Month

May 5, 2020

May is National Mental Health Month. And today, May 5th, is National Silence the Shame Day. This day encourages open conversation surrounding mental illness, as we work to erase stigmas and advocate support for people with mental illness.

Considering the current state of the world, self-quarantine, isolation, and social distancing has been understandably hard for many individuals. The lack of in-person connection that most of us are experiencing on a daily basis can exacerbate mental illness or difficulties involving mental health. Staying in recovery from the disease of addiction is subsequently harder, too.

If you are looking for help

Alvis is here for you right now, providing substance abuse and mental health treatment services! We are still taking walk-ins. Two of our programs specifically focus on behavioral healthcare—Recovery Choices and Amethyst. Recovery Choices focuses on comprehensive outpatient and intensive outpatient services for men and women. Amethyst is our program for women with and without children seeking addiction, mental health, and trauma-related treatment. Because these are challenging times, for both of these programs, we are currently offering telehealth assessments, telehealth counseling, and telemedicine. Both programs involve psychiatric assessments and corresponding medical treatment as needed.

Additionally, we offer individualized treatment to those with developmental disabilities. If you or a loved one is seeking treatment, click here.

One particular crisis that has intensified in conjunction with COVID-19 is the opioid crisis in our home state. This past weekend was the 5th straight weekend with an increased number of overdoses in central Ohio. Here is a link to Naloxone kits, which counteract opioid overdoses, if you or a loved one are in need.

Lastly, if you are seeking out a specific program, you can contact Recovery Choices at: 614-502-7843 and Amethyst at 614-242-1284.

If you are looking to help

Click this link to donate directly to Alvis, or send a check to Alvis, 2100 Stella Ct, Columbus, OH 43215.

You can also donate items. We’ve created an Amazon Wish List! You can order items to be delivered to us, or drop off items between 9:00am and 3:00pm at 455 E. Mound St., Columbus.

Simply sending notes, letters, videos, or anything else that could lift our clients up can be sent to 2100 Stella Ct, Columbus, OH 43215, Attn: Development & Communications. Or click here to send electronically.

On Mental Health Month

Some attention across social media and news outlets has focused on the challenges facing our nation in regards to mental health. A Kaiser Family Foundation Poll, cited by The Washington Post, found that nearly half of Americans have reported that the coronavirus crisis has affected their mental health. Diseases leave lingering psychological and societal effects in a long-lasting shadow. This shadow “often trails the disease by weeks, months, even years. And it receives scant attention compared with the disease, even though it, too, wreaks carnage, devastates families, harms and kills.”

So, what can we do to help? The 2020 theme for National Mental Health Month is “Tools 2 Thrive.” You could check out info about this year’s theme on Mental Health America’s website, which offers links to printable handouts and information on working through feelings and emotions in healthy ways, connecting to others, and establishing healthy routines.

There are also plenty of other great mental health organizations and advocacy groups, such as NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), which has begun its “You are Not Alone” campaign, crusading against the idea that anyone is truly alone during this time. Even if we cannot physically be close, now is a suitable time (if you can) to check in with friends and family. And it’s also important to recognize that no one “should feel alone or without the information, support and help they need.”

Silence the Shame Day is similarly about spreading awareness. The best thing that organizations can do right now is provide resources and encourage open conversation about mental illness, so that nobody suffers in silence.

Alvis practices integrated behavioral healthcare to best serve our clients, who have a wide array of different needs that arise from the challenges they face. We are taking this time to prioritize both physical and mental health, mirroring the sentiments expressed by NAMI and Mental Health America. Our clients are not alone in their battles involving mental health, and our treatment continues to aim at helping clients turn their lives around.

Alvis is a nonprofit human services agency with over 50 years of experience providing highly effective treatment programs in Ohio. Our vision is that communities value a person’s potential more than their past. For more information on how Alvis can help you or to learn more about how you can get involved, contact us here.

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