Fall 2023 Referrals Newsletter

[Frank D’Aulisa]

Back by popular demand, here is our first referrals newsletter in over a year! We will be sending these out periodically with some reminders, changes, and announcements related to referrals. Please take some time to familiarize yourself with these resources and feel free to email Frank with any questions.

NEW REFERRALS AND CATEGORIES:

• We have added an Order of Protection category that contains referrals that can assist with obtaining an OOP. There are several courts listed, along with some agencies that provide services for survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.
• New Horizon Crisis Center (Walk-In) – New Horizon Counseling Center has a 24/7 walk-in Crisis Center at their Valley Stream location for people ages 5+ who are struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues. This is not a psychiatric ER and they cannot provide medication; they are basically an in-person version of the hotline.
• Phone Link Peer Warm Line (MHANC) – Run by the Mental Health Association of Nassau County, this warm line referral was previously only listed under the MHANC. It now has its own listing, which can be found by searching with the Warm Line category. It is not actually a new referral – just an easier way to find the information. Note that it is only available Monday-Friday from 9am-9pm.
• Charlie Health – A new telehealth-only referral that provides intensive outpatient treatment and psychiatry services to people ages 11-33. They are licensed in multiple states and can also be given to out of state callers. This can also be a good resource for clients who need counseling more than just once a week.
• We are in the process of adding a category for Bulletin Board Referrals which will include all the referrals that are listed on the Bulletin Boards at the office. They can also be found in the online counselor manual. These are some of the “go-to” referrals for all the most common call topics. Please make sure that you are reading over the referral description in Infobase to ensure that it is appropriate for the client before giving it out, as some may have restrictions or recent changes that are not noted on the Bulletin Board pages themselves. You can print out these referrals from the counselor manual so that you’ll have them handy in the event that Infobase goes down, and you may want to take notes of any restrictions ahead of time. Note that these are not automatically updated and some may not be 100% up to date when you go to give them out.

CHANGES:

• Hope for Youth Runaway Shelter – Hope for Youth now only accepts runaway/homeless youth up until their 18th birthday. There are other youth shelters in Suffolk found in the Housing-Emergency Youth category, or they can try calling Suffolk County DSS if they are 18+.
• NYC WELL – NYC WELL’s direct number is no longer in service and callers can now only reach them directly by calling 988 with an NYC area code (212, 646, 718, 347, etc.). They may still bounce over to us if all their counselors are busy, but we can do a warm transfer following the instructions in the counselor manual. Callers in need of Mobile Crisis services will have to get connected to NYC 988 to complete an intake. This referral listing is still intact for informational purposes but has been updated to reflect the changes. Listed in this referral, there is a website that we can provide to callers for them to find resources in the NYC boroughs on their own if that’s all they need.

REMINDERS:

• The Out of Area Referrals category contains a list of hotlines in every state, plus Washington D.C. and Canada, listed alphabetically. The New York State Hotlines referral includes hotlines for many counties upstate. Hotlines in all 50 states can also be found by using the Hotlines-National category.
• There is a Hotlines-International category if you receive a call from someone who lives out of the country. International callers can visit these websites, http://www.befrienders.org and http://www.iasp.info (International Association for Suicide Prevention), to find a hotline in their area.
• There is a Religious Counseling category to find referrals that provide faith-based counseling.
• 988 Lifeline (formerly NSPL) – There is a direct line for Spanish-speaking callers listed under this referral, which may be helpful for bilingual third-party callers who are concerned about a loved one who only speaks Spanish. There is other information regarding the Lifeline that can be found in this referral, including the office number for Vibrant Emotional Health (the administrator of the 988 Lifeline).
• PINS – There are separate referrals for Nassau and Suffolk containing information on PINS Diversion services. These referrals could come in handy for parents who are calling about a child aged 12 – 18 who is out of control, including those who are refusing to go to school. Please see the Runaway/Homeless Youth section of the counselor manual for more information on PINS Diversion and Petitions.

FYIs:

• Center for Coping is looking for and accepting new clients – appointments can usually be made within 48 hours, but this is not guaranteed.
• EPIC Long Island (Extraordinary People in Care) has no waitlist, and they are adding new full-time staff to increase availability for both children and adults.
• http://www.BetterHelp.com is available to clients ages 18+ in all 50 States and some internationally. They do not take insurance, but they are a low-cost option that would be good for people without insurance who would like telehealth counseling. Clients can purchase memberships that include additional services if they choose to. More information on services included in the membership can be found in the referral description.
• Samaritans of New York – This is another 24/7 crisis and suicide prevention hotline for callers in NYC that can serve as an alternative if callers are unable to get through to the agency formerly known as NYC WELL. They do not handle Mobile Crisis calls but can be a good substitute for callers in NYC who just need to speak to someone for a bit.

 

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