NORTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — KidsPeace, a nonprofit organization that offers free behavioral and mental health services, is joining with Lehigh County to continue its free walk-in mental health assessments, it said Thursday in a written statement.
- KidsPeace has joined with Lehigh County to fund walk-in mental health assessments
- Individuals will get a safety screening, risk assessment and a safety plan, as well as recommendations for further care
- The county also will fund a case worker and, in some cases, telehealth
Families now can have a child or adult meet with a clinical professional without an appointment and walk out with a safety screening, risk assessment and safety plan, as well as recommendations for further care, the agency said in its news release.
The two Lehigh County clinics offering the service are at 801 E. Green St. in Allentown, and 1620 Broadway in Bethlehem.
The county will reimburse KidsPeace upwards of $40,000 a year to run the two clinics. It also will fund a new case manager for the program to help individuals access services after their assessment, as well as telehealth services for people on extended waitlists, according to the release.
KidsPeace first started providing such services in 2013 and since has helped 6,000 children and adults find care during mental health crises.
“Our goal was really twofold,” Chris Ferry, executive director of KidsPeace's PA Community Programs, said of the program's launch. “It was to offer immediate access to people dealing with mental health crises, and to help decrease the use of emergency services.”
KidsPeace had noticed that especially in the middle of mental health crises, it could be challenging for individuals to find the resources they needed. When they’d go to emergency rooms, they would end up waiting for hours or even days to get help.
The new agreement lets it “continue to provide individuals in our community the care they need at the moment they need it the most,” Ferry said in the release.
KidsPeace said most individuals come in for issues related to depression, self-injurious behavior or anxiety. Therapists who provide services also cite behavioral issues in the home, school and community as common issues.
Joshua Bridges, Lehigh County administrator for mental health, intellectual disabilities, early intervention services and drug & alcohol, said the enhanced walk-in assessment program will be vital to responding to the mental and behavioral health needs of county residents.
Part of that is the challenge parents face just trying to make sense of program options available to them.
“We receive calls from parents who are frustrated,” Bridges said in the release. He said that was amplified by the coronavirus pandemic, when he saw an increase in cases of depression, anxiety and other mental health issues among children.
“When someone is just at an unstable time in their life,” said Ferry, “they don't know if they have any options.”Chris Ferry, executive director of KidsPeace's Pa. Community Programs
“When someone is just an unstable time in their life,” Ferry said, “they don't know if they have any options.”
He said being able to talk to someone immediately is crucial.
"Once you get somebody engaged and start them talking therapeutically, immediately, the crisis starts to decrease."