Episode 20: The State of Mental Health in Mississippi
For Mental Health Awareness Month, we speak with Kay Daneault and Melody Worsham of the Mental Health Association of South Mississippi about the work they do and the challenges the face.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Rhes Low, Host:
Hey guys, welcome back to South of Fine. I, as usual, I'm your host, Rhes Low. So all of our regular listeners know that our goal at South of Fine is to change the stigma around mental healthcare. One of the best ways that we can do this is by inviting more people to the conversation like you guys. So if you want to help our podcast get seen by more people, we really, really hope that you'll subscribe to South of Fine. Then you can rate us and share our episodes with your friends and family. We'd love that.
As a lot of you may know, May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We want to spend some time on this episode, talking about the state of mental health in Mississippi. What has the COVID effect been? Why does a stigma still linger in Mississippi or the South for that matter? And what needs to happen to advance mental health care across the state? Hope you enjoy this episode.
All right, guys. To take us through these very important topics, our guests today are Kay Daneault. Daneault, is that right?
Kay Daneault, Executive Director, Mental Health Association of South Mississippi:
Yes.
Low:
Okay, cool. Executive director of the Mental Health Association of South Mississippi, and Melody Worsham, a certified peer support specialist and Wellness Recovery Action Planning Workshop facilitator, at the Mental Health Association of South Mississippi. Guys, thank you so much for being here.
Melody Worsham, Certified Peer Support Specialist, Mental Health Association of South Mississippi:
Glad to be here.
Daneault:
Thank you.
Low:
Yeah, it's pretty cool to have you. Before we started recording, I was going to tell you guys, I'm really excited to hear from you as a layman. I'm kind of overjoyed to have you guys just to learn for myself. This is pretty cool. But before we jump into anything, will you guys give our listeners some information about the organization that you work for and what you do and anything cool about yourself? If you want to share that, that'd be great. Kay, why don't you start?
Daneault:
Thank you. I'm Kay Daneault, I've been with Mental Health Association since December of 2007. But the organization has been around since 1963.
Low:
Wow.
Daneault:
Yeah, long time. It started off just a group of people who were selling crafts to raise money, and they used that money to purchase gifts for Christmas to stand up the state hospital in the Jackson area. From there, it just grew into them trying to figure out how to bring people together. Eventually, they were able to raise enough money and they purchased the building that we're still in, [inaudible 00:03:14].
Just has grown and grown, to us now having different programs that are funded by both the federal government. We have some HUD housing programs, the State Department of Mental Health funds a drop-in center for us. It's a day program for adults who experience mental health. They're doing all kinds of fun things there, but opportunity to learn and to have support groups be with their peers.
Then we also do homeless outreach, trying to connect with people who are literally living out on the streets, to get them into housing and into a better life. A lot of things happening.
Low:
That's great. Super cool. Melody, you're up?
Worsham:
I'm a certified peer support specialist, which means that I use my lived experience with mental illness and PTSD. I've achieved a level of recovery, where I was trained by the Department of Mental Health, in order to help other people on their recovery journey. A lot of my a lot of the things I do, is reaching out to people who are struggling, trying to learn a recovery path for themselves, learn some wellness tools, stress management, managing their own crises and those kinds of things. I take that out into the community, to do education on stigma, wellness education, and so forth.
Low:
Wow. That's super cool. As both of you guys were talking, I have never asked this question, but it occurred to me that, kind of like attorneys you deal with other people's stress a lot. This is kind of diverting from the mental health focus that we wanted to do on stigma and on the ramifications of COVID, but how do you guys deal with the day to day help that you give others? As empathetic folks, as I'm sure you are, that's got a weigh on you terribly. How do you manage that?
Worsham:
It's true. We're hearing all kinds of stories and some of them can be triggering, because they're telling you about things that are happening to them that I myself have experienced or that other people have experienced. Sometimes taking that home is not the right thing to do. One of the benefits of knowing the Wellness Recovery Action Planning, that's something that we actually use, to help ourselves. It's hard to turn it off at night, but you have to. We've got to take care of ourselves first. If we don't take care of ourselves, we have nothing to give. It's a matter of figuring out ways to do that, but also knowing where your boundaries are. Sometimes I do, I have to say, "That's enough. I want to hear your story, but I can't hear it any more today."
Low:
Yeah.
Worsham:
Just being honest about that. I think that goes for anybody who is in a stressful job. Is saying, "This is my limit and I need to take a break."
Low:
That's great. Understanding where you are in that process and in your own process. I love that you say it's important, because it affects what you give and how you help. That's really cool. All right, now to the subject on hand, which is, this month is like we said, it is Mental Health Awareness Month. Two of the biggest issues, the most current issues that we're dealing with, that affect mental health. One is recent, of course, which everyone knows is COVID. The other is a stigma, especially here in the South. There is a stigma associated with seeking mental help or getting mental health or being a part of mental health, that I think is breaking down. But I think there's also still a ways to go. Let's start by taking stock in what the COVID pandemic has done in the state of mental health care in Mississippi. Where we were pre COVID and where do you guys think we are now? Big question.
Daneault:
It is. Obviously, every person is unique in their situation. When you're thinking so broadly, it's hard to kind of generalize. But overall, I think our state was really making big strides to improve our mental health system. It's a big state, so we're spread out with our geography, but I know that there's different programs that are being started like PACT teams. Those are geographically in our state. Those are teams of people, that include a peer support specialist, but also there's a nurse on the team. There's a case manager on the team.
It's a whole group of people, who actually are going out into the home, to work with those folks that have really had the most difficult time. They've been hospitalized a lot. So they need more of that hands on team approach. I think our state was moving directions where we're trying to think more innovatively and do things that other states have done that have really worked to improve the system.
But given the fact that we've, this last year, had so much uncertainty, we've had so much conflict. You turn on the news and it's just like, "Oh my gosh, I can't even watch this anymore. It's so stressful." I think that people, now that things are starting to loosen up a little bit and we've got the vaccination, I got both my shots and we're super excited.
Low:
Me too.
Daneault:
Yeah. I think that those kinds of things, we're starting to see sort of the rainbow come out of the sky. But it definitely, for a lot of people, especially if they were already experiencing some things, if they've now been maybe isolated more, they're at home more, not getting to see those people that surround them and just give them those good feelings every day, people are feeling that. People are really struggling to try to move forward.
Low:
Absolutely. I think you briefly touched on this, Melody, feel free to answer this if you'd like. Whoever feels it's most appropriate for them. But are there any specific programs that the state has implemented, to do something about the COVID impact of on mental health? Or is it all from private institutions or public institutions like you, but... You what I'm saying? Is it top down, is the state implemented in these sorts of programs?
Worsham:
It's all of the above, actually. Private, public, the state, have all really pulled together to try to find ways to reach people in innovative ways. I never thought that I would like having internet meetings and virtual meetings, but come to find out that that was a lifeline for a lot of people. So, yay for technology, because it allowed people right there in their own homes to be able to turn it on and connect to someone who understood what they were going through, understood the loneliness.
The Department of Mental Health, set up a website called Behind The Mask Mississippi or Behind the Mask MS. It is just nothing but resources for people to be able to reach out electronically and try to get some help. But it also has those crisis lines that if you absolutely needed a mobile crisis team to come to your home and help you figure out what your next steps are, to get through whatever is going on, those were available as well.
Worsham:
But in the peer support, some of us who had never been connected, because we're working our own programs and so forth, we have figured out innovative ways to stay in touch, so that we can keep ourselves well, to also help others, but also to do warm handovers. That's been an awesome experience, that we find out somebody has decided to move closer to family, and they're in my area now and saying, "Hi, Melody. Joe is coming from Jackson and he needs to get connected." Having that warm handover, so people don't feel like, "If I leave, I'm losing everything I know." They have a friendly face to say, "Welcome," to them, when they come into their new area. That's been really nice and it's been a comfort for a lot of people.
Low:
That's super cool. Everybody that I've talked to in this profession and it's everyone in Mississippi, is so positive about what's happening right now in Mississippi, in the world of mental health. I know that access is limited nationwide. I don't think that it's where it should be. Maybe worldwide, even. But is Mississippi kind of ahead of the curve, are we on the curve? How are we doing in that relation to the whole?
Worsham:
Well, I think in some areas we're actually ranking number seven in some of the innovative ways that we've been able to reach populations that were hard to serve. That's been a real plus. But then in other ways, we've got some ways to go. We still do some things that have created some real issues for people and we're working on those hard. But they have created some serious challenges for some people.
Low:
Kay, were you going to say something in that regard?
Daneault:
Well, I was just going to say that sometimes with the role areas that we have in Mississippi, you can take [inaudible 00:14:01] on the coast. We have so many different things happening here. But when you've got a small town that's out there, they may not have services in their area. That person might not even have the transportation to get to wherever a doctor or a therapist might be. That could be physical health as well.
Tele-health has been an amazing thing that's more popular here. But then you've got those pockets of people where, they might not even have a computer. And if they do, their internet access might not be that great. You've got some good happening, but then you've got to figure out, "Okay, what about this person that maybe nobody even knows that they're there and they need some help." They're kind of on their own little island and it's difficult to figure out how do we get the word out and get people that access that they need?
Worsham:
And there's no-
Low:
Is that the biggest... I'm sorry, Go ahead.
Worsham:
I was going to say, there is no one size fits all model. Everyone is unique in what their needs are for mental health care, everyone is completely different. Like Kay is saying, some of these areas might have the best therapist in the entire world, but that one does not suit the needs of everybody. So we can really limit how much care that that person can get, or it can even overwhelm that one super person that's in that area, if they're the only one that is available. Those can be real challenges for the state.
Low:
Speaking of rural access to mental health, I'm going to ask this question, I know that's a portion of it. But is there anyone else who we are leaving behind when it comes to mental health care in this state? Is it mainly the rural communities or is there something that I don't know about there is?
Worsham:
There is-
Daneault:
Well, I think-
Worsham:
Go ahead, Kay.
Daneault:
Well, I was going to say, I feel it's kind of a difficult question. I think that sometimes, when people are feeling things and they felt comfortable enough, we're going to talk about stigma similar, but when people have gotten to the point where they feel comfortable enough to really reach out, a lot of times, people will seek the information that they need and they'll figure it out. We get calls at our office all the time and people will say, "This is happening with me, or this is happening with my family member or my friend or whatever. I just need to figure out what to do or who to reach out to." We'll help them navigate that.
"Do you have insurance?" Insurance drives how much healthcare you can get, unfortunately. That's always usually the first question. But there are community mental health centers all across the state. They're broken down by county, basically. Those places will accept people who don't have insurance, they don't have a means to pay. They do that on a sliding scale fee. They'll accept Medicaid. That's a big thing. If somebody has say Social Security benefits, then they should have Medicaid to go along with that. That gives them access to some healthcare.
Daneault:
People that don't have the means to pay, I think that's definitely some folks that we're missing, because where do they go? Here on the coast, the Community Mental Health Center, because they were seeing so many people who weren't able to pay, things weren't quite balancing out. They ended up being absorbed by Pine Belt Mental Health, which is based in the Hattiesburg area. I think that's a challenge, definitely people that don't have the means to pay for the services.
Low:
You guys do a lot of outreach to homeless people as well. Don't you?
Worsham:
Yes.
Daneault:
We do. We have a specific program. I know Melody's going out with some of those guys a few times. Literally, our staff goes out into the area and tries to find people that are living on the streets. In other big cities, you might see tents on the side of the road and all that kind of stuff that we see on TV or whatever. At least here in our area down on the coast, people are in the woods. You may not necessarily see them.
Daneault:
One exciting thing that's happened because of COVID, is all this federal money is coming to states and we've been able to work with other organizations, to get people into housing. The numbers here are going down, dramatically. There's always going to be that influx of somebody coming into homelessness, but now we have money to put somebody into a place and get them self-sufficient, which is exciting.
Whereas before, you've tried, and you tried, and you're tried to keep help helping them, but maybe you can only get so far, because figuring out how to get them somewhere that they could afford or whether a program was available. That's definitely something positive that's happened because of this.
Low:
From what little I know about the impact, that's actually huge, to get them housing. That's a huge impact on their life. That's great.
Daneault:
It is, absolutely. At one time, the way the system sort of worked was, "Let's get them off drugs, let's fix this." Everyone wanted to make that person sort of ready for housing. But then at one point, some genius out there said, it wasn't me, somebody said, "You know what? Let's put a roof over their head and they figure out all that stuff." Good grief, how are you supposed to figure out your health and get off of substances and whatever, if you live in a ditch or behind a building?
Low:
True.
Daneault:
Now you can take a shower, you've got food in your refrigerator. That is a game changer.
Worsham:
Indeed. It's well known that, if you started off mentally healthy and you became homeless, at some point you are going to start experiencing some mental health issues, just by the virtue of being homeless and being afraid and insecure. The stress of not being able to get a job because you can't take a bath, you had to sell your car just to feed yourself. It becomes a real downward spiral, that people, once they get in it, it's so difficult to get out.
Worsham:
So just offering that one thing of, "Let's put a roof over your head." And if I feel safe and secure, I'm more motivated to go, "You know what? I think I will go see the doctor." Or, "Maybe I will go talk to that counselor and see what I can do about my depression or my anxiety or my PTSD," and those kinds of things. You had asked about one of those populations, even among the homeless, they're not all the same either.
Worsham:
Even among the homeless population, there's those that are hard to reach and that's those that truly have given up on some hope. They just don't think that the world has anything to offer them anymore. So they've chosen, they've made a choice to turn themselves or disconnect themselves. Those people still need love and compassion, and they need to be mentally healthy, but they're a challenge to figure out ways to reach out to them. This material help that we provide, is definitely a way in, to be able to talk to them and make friends with them and find out what's going on.
Low:
Really, really great work. Absolutely, excellent. We've touched on this a little bit, but do you guys think that COVID has reduced that stigma? "Fix it. Just pull yourself up by your bootstraps." Do you guys think that COVID has helped that to wane a bit?
Worsham:
I think it has. I really do. What I've seen is, that people who don't have a diagnosis, don't have mental health issues otherwise, have all of a sudden experienced cabin fever, loneliness, anxiety, stress. All of a sudden your children are at home and you're working at home. Suddenly they're starting to go, "You know what? Now I understand my cousin who has depression. Now I understand what she feels like."
It's kind of come out in the open and people are starting to talk about their feelings more. I'm seeing that the stigma has gotten better, because it's everyday people that we think are strong and mentally healthy that are saying, "I'm experiencing some things." And they're saying, "I need to reach out and I need to get help." I think that's giving courage to a lot of people to reach out and say, "You know what? I'm not weak. I'm not a defective person. There's nothing wrong with me, because I have a mental health issue. This is just like arthritis or blood pressure or anything else that we talk about. Let's just take care of it..
Low:
Yeah, they all work together.
\Worsham:
Absolutely.
Low:
Brain and body, all the same unit. This is actually a good question and a hard question, to me who doesn't know much. But how is that stigma holding us back, Kay? As a state, as individuals, however you want to answer it.
Daneault:
What melody was saying, I agree with 100%. Think about this too, we all experienced stress and sometimes that's a huge motivator. I know at work, if I get stressed, it pushes me to get those deadlines done and those kinds of things. But when we start talking about, mental illness can happen when your daily living is effected. Now you're not able to work. You're not performing well in school. Your relationships are suffering. And even just things that you do every day, like taking a shower and keeping up with your hygiene, when those things start to become affected and things have been happening for a while, that's when you really need to start thinking about, "Maybe something else is going on here."
Daneault:
I think sometimes when people hear mental illness, they're scared. You're fearful because most people don't really understand. They've never had to maybe interact with someone who was experiencing those things. It's probably something that you just really didn't talk about at the dinner table with your family. I know when I was growing up, I can remember my dad talking about someone that was in our family, who was actually in a mental health hospital. I can remember the way he explained it to me, I was horrified. I thought, "Gosh," it sounded like jail. They were in the hospital trying to get the help that they needed.
Sometimes people still feel that's what's happening. We've progressed so much. It's no longer that if someone's diagnosed with a mental illness, they're not told, "You're going to be in the hospital forever and that's all you have." That doesn't exist anymore. Now, we've got ways to get help and it could be something really simple, just to try to help you get those coping skills, build up your confidence and just really empower you to help yourself.
It may or may not include medication. Medication is not for everyone. Sometimes those side effects, that can have a bearing on whether somebody even wants to take the medicine. Sometimes we hear people that they're on some medication and they start to feel better. They figure, "Well, I must not need it anymore," and they stop. That's not a good thing either. With any medicine, you need to talk to your doctor. I think all of those things that people have kind of heard and that we see in the movies, seems like anytime something bad happens on the news, it's like, "Oh, they had a mental illness." Well, not always.
Statistically, if someone has a mental illness, they're more likely to have something happen to them, not them begin to run, that does something to someone else. I think it holds people back because the fear. I don't want my employer to know that this is happening, because now what are they going to think? How are they going to think that I'm doing at work? Every little thing that comes up, they're going to say, "Oh, it's because they have a mental illness."
But it shouldn't be that way. It should be that we can, just like we would tell somebody, I think Melody mentioned, if you had diabetes, you probably would tell your friends, your coworker about it. But for whatever reason with mental illness, we just don't like to talk about it. I do think it's improving, but we do have a long way to go.
Low:
I love that you mentioned the hospitals. Because I don't think in my lifetime there were any, or maybe they were open, but they were shutting down when I was younger. But the conversation was still there. That stigma that was associated with, "Let's be quiet, and we sent aunt Becky off to the institution." For us, that was a big part of understanding mental health, which was actually not understanding mental health. But this younger generation has it, really had that conversation. Do you think that there's a shift in the stigma, with these younger generations, let's say maybe 35 and younger?
Daneault:
I think again, everybody's unique. But I do think that now, I've noticed that on some of the national news stations, they're talking about mental illness. Like Melody said, people are experiencing things that they never have before. Again, as we talk about it and the more that people hear things in a positive light, the more they're comfortable with it. I've read a lot of things about the younger people that in their jobs, they want to do a job that's meaningful to them.
I think our younger generation has more compassion for people, than maybe some of us older folks have. I think that's a beautiful thing, because that's a lot of it. Is if you have compassion and you have empathy for others, you want to know, "What is it like to be that person?" Then you may be more curious and you may be more apt, to reach out and help them. I think you can.
But I believe that it has a lot to do with what you hear. Younger people look up to adults, to get their information. And you tend to emulate what your parents are doing and those kinds of things. If we, as adults, are saying things that are positive, because people do get better, they recover. We have five people who work for us, that are peer support specialists. They have had mental health challenges and they're doing good, they work. They do things that everybody else is doing. They're not just sitting at home and watching TV all day. I think that sometimes, we may think that's what's going to happen. I don't know. That's a difficult question.
Low:
That's an excellent answer. I want to ask Melody, I know that Melody, you've gone through a lot and overcome, and are now in a position to not only just have straight up empathy, but life experience that you can relate to these people you're helping. Have you seen any difference in the younger generation being more open to communication as you speak with them?
Worsham:
Yeah. The young people that I've worked with, they just seem more open to go ahead and say what's on their mind and how they're feeling and what's going on. They're a little more blunt about it and straight up. Whereas, my generation, we say things like, "Oh, I'm in a mood," or, "I'm just having a bad day." They're straight out saying, "I'm going bonkers. I can't take it anymore." I love that because, hey, if you can't acknowledge it, if we can't talk straight up about it, then how are we supposed to address how to fix it, what to do about it? I think that openness and just that acceptance, that Katy mentioned.
I see it on social media posts a lot that somebody says, "Hey, I'm having a bad day. I feel really depressed." And their friends are just responding, going, "Yeah, I was like that yesterday? I just went and ate my favorite food at the fast food place. I took a bath and watched my favorite movie, and I'm good." They share their wellness tools. They share what they do to get themselves well, to encourage that person to try something. They don't give up on each other.
Whereas in my generation, you do give up. Once great auntie B, goes to the hospital, she isn’t coming back? I come from that generation. When I was diagnosed, that's exactly what they told me, is I'll be on medication my whole life and I'll probably be in and out of hospitals and never get a job. Here I am. I'm so glad they were wrong.
Low:
It's such an odd thing because, and we relate this a good bit. With physical ailments, everyone's like, "You can get over it. You can do this. You can get back on your feet." But with mental illness, it's like, "It's done. You're not going to get a job." Which is not the case at all. You can recover. Melody, you're sitting here talking to us, a person that has. Healthy and working and helping others. Really, that's great. That's very, very excellent. Also, Melody, you're the first person that's ever said anything positive about social media on this podcast
Worsham:
For real.
Low:
For real.
Worsham:
It's been a lifeline. I belong to peer support groups on social media and we get together. They're private groups, so we can say what we need to say. We can talk about how to help somebody, talk about our own struggles, so that we could keep ourselves strong. It has been a lifeline for so many people. But yeah, we have to learn how to turn on the filters and find out where that block button is. Because sometimes that's necessary also for our mental health.
Low:
Sure. That's great. I love that. I've been looking for a positive social media outlook. All right. This next question, you guys have answered. What's it going to take to get beyond that stigma? I think it comes back to just communicating and with everyone and being open about your feelings and what you're feeling. I know that's easier said than done. I do.
Worsham:
One in four people have some kind of mental health condition. One in four. That's 25% of us. If there's 10 people in a room, there's at least two or three people there, that have a mental health condition. It's so ubiquitous. Let's just talk about it. You're not alone. And it's normal to have feelings that you don't understand. It's normal to be depressed once in a while. It's normal to feel anxiety. It's normal to feel paranoid sometimes. Let's just talk about it. Just talk about it.
Low:
Yeah, absolutely. I love that. What can parents and families do, to ensure that there isn't this stigma? That we stop this cycle of mental health stigma? Families, friends, peer groups, whatever.
Daneault:
I think one of the things is, to be that example. Practice some healthy lifestyles. All those things that we know we should do, getting outside, exercising, having a little balance in your life. You need to work hard, [inaudible 00:36:22] hard to do. Then let's have some relaxation time. A lot of times, I know when my daughter was growing up, so many kids, they had soccer practice and then it was this sport and it was dance lessons and all this stuff. Kids need that play time and just time to use their imagination and be able to grow that way. I think if we can model some positive behavior for them, that helps them to grow up with the outlook that, "Okay, these things..."
You need to figure out what your wellness tools are. We talked about, Melody mentioned, the Wellness Recovery Action Planning, WRAP, for short. That's a national program that's been around for over 20 years. Mary Ellen Copeland, who is from the Northeast area, she helped to develop that. All it is, just thinking about simple concepts. We talk about simple, safe, and free, things that you can do to keep yourself feeling well.
It could be something like, you just going for a walk or playing with your dog, having that piece of chocolate, whatever it is. Then thinking about, " Okay, what are my stressors, my triggers? If this happens, what am I going to do to keep that from really upsetting me?" It's a really cool program. I think those kinds of simple things... It's great to go on a big vacation or it's great to spend a day at the spa or whatever. We don't really need all that to keep ourselves well. Let's have a picnic outside. Let's just watch a funny movie that puts me in a good perspective in time.
Just thinking about those simple things that you can do, especially with kids. I saw something really funny the other day, I can't remember exactly. But it made me think about Christmas time. Kids get all this stuff, parents stress so much to get all these presents for their kids. Then you've got the baby over there playing in the box. They don't even care about the baby doll or whatever it is.
Low:
Very true.
Daneault:
It's so simple. They just want you to pay attention to them and help them figure out how to keep things going.
Low:
All of that I'm living right now, and I agree, 100%.
Worsham:
I was a mother of a child who had a mental illness as well. One of the things I can say about parents is that, they blame themselves for whatever mental health issues that their child has. It doesn't help to do that. It never helped me to blame myself. I was like, "I have mental illness and now I'm passing it onto my kid. This is my fault." It just lays blame. It doesn't really solve the problem. If we're focused on that, it's just making a very negative or pessimistic environment in our home.
Worsham:
Whereas, looking at it as going, "Okay, we have challenges and doggone it, we're going to tackle it together as a family." And just looking at it that way of, "Let's move forward." So, if there's parents out there who are blaming themselves or wondering what they could have done different, don't do that. It just doesn't help matters. Just address what you got and just get out there and figure out what's going to be best for you and your family to get healthy.
Low:
I think that's a great statement. It just lays blame, it doesn't solve the problem. The blame can't do anything about it. That's just a feeling. Well guys, I could continue as usual, as I typically say with most people, but we will not. Thank you so much Melody and Kay. You guys seem to be doing incredible work on the Gulf Coast. And I'm sure that your tentacles extend a little bit further than that as well, even going into the woods to find homeless people and make sure they're all right. That means you're covering the gamut of issues here in Mississippi. I thank you for your work and for your time to sit here and listen to me talk too much. I hope I didn't.
Daneault:
Well, thank you so much. I do want to say one more thing. On our website, we have mental health screenings. It's just some simple questions. At the end, it'll give you either a score basically, where you can say, "Okay, I need to talk to someone. Or maybe it's just something I'm going through." There are several different ones on there. It can be anonymous, or you can link to the National Mental Health America, and they'll direct you to an appropriate resource to get some professional help.
Low:
Awesome. What's the website again?
Daneault:
It's msmentalhealth.org.
Low:
Great. msmentalhealth.org. All right. Well, regardless of where we are in the state of mental health in this state, we are definitely moving forward with people like you guys at the helm, helping people individually and as a whole. Again, thank you guys, and have an awesome rest of the day.
Daneault:
Thank you.
Worsham:
Thanks. You too.
Low:
All right. Take care guys. Bye.
Daneault:
Thank you so much.
Low:
If you have questions about mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic that you'd like our providers to answer in a future episode, please email southoffine@rightrackmedical.com. If you'd like more information about Right Track Medical Group or the South of Fine podcast, please visit righttrackmedical.com. Thanks to our production team, Kelley Hunsberger, Caitlyn Clegg, Carol Ann Hughes, Aleka Battista, and Rhes Low. A special thanks Squadcast for providing superior remote interview services.
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