Last Thursday we were treated to Abigail’s first presentation with us, entitled “Community Resources “

Abigail began by sharing that she wanted all who were present to leave with more knowledge of the mental health resources that are available in the Omaha area. She shared that Omaha does have many mental health resources available that will help you without the need to be hospitalized.

Some of those options are listed below; 

988, which is a suicide and crisis hotline. This hotline was started in 2014 by a senator in Utah, who felt we needed to recognize mental health emergencies as true health emergencies.  When using 988, about 90 percent of the people that call in will receive a call back the next day. The folks at 988 are able to activate a mobile crisis response team. This team consists of therapists who are trained as co-responders. These co-responders will go to the home and try and de-escalate the situation. These individuals can also offer post crisis care, and will also connect you with 90 days of community support.

Safe Harbor…Safe Harbor is a peer run crisis intervention center in Omaha, at 414 South 25th Ave.  Safe Harbor is the only entirely peer run support center in Omaha, and run by people who have experienced mental illness. You can stay up to 24 hours in this facility, providing they have the support staff on hand.  They also operate a 24/7 warmline you can call at 402-715-4226

( PES) Psychiatric Emergency Services Unit at UNMC…

4350 Dewey Ave Level 1 , 402-559-6637

This is an psychiatric emergency room just for mental health, and is meant to give people a place to stabilize and connect with care and referrals. Their goal here is also to avoid an inpatient hospital stay, and help patients de-escalate and become safe. 

Community Alliance…

This is a community based mental health care agency, that provides the largest choice of mental health care services in Omaha. This includes a mental health clinic, and several other programs. A wait to see a psychiatrist here is typically about 4-5 weeks. 

You can call 402-341-5128, and ask for the rapid response team.

At the end of Abigail’s presentation, she asked us to show by a raise of hands if everyone had taken away at least one thing from her presentation. I definitely raised my hand.  I learned that there are many more mental healthcare options out there for people in the Omaha area than I realized. 

And that’s a positive thing!