Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene

The funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will give the clinic $1 million annually over four years.

Chautauqua County will use the funds to improve access to community-based recovery services, expand mobile crisis teams with a youth specialty, and enhance care coordination and peer specialist services.

Chautauqua County has two behavioral health clinics located at 200 E. Third Street in Jamestown and at 60 Franklin Avenue in Dunkirk.

The Department said a traumatic event can affect someone emotionally, physically, and mentally. Fear and anxiety about a traumatic event can overwhelm and cause strong emotions. Staff emphasized that these feelings are normal and that everyone reacts differently to stressful situations.

If you have seen or been through a traumatic event, Mental Hygiene offers the following tips that may be helpful:
– Talk to someone. Talking about it may feel uncomfortable, but it may help you feel better. Talk to friends, your partner, family, or a counselor. Talking about it is a step toward healing.
– Keep active. Physical activity is an excellent way to reduce stress. Go outside and get some fresh air.
– Do something that brings you joy. Spend time with your pets or get away to a spot where you feel your best.
– Eat well and get enough sleep to feel rested. Feeling physically healthy can help you feel emotionally strong.
– Avoid using alcohol or drugs as a way of coping.
– Avoid social media doom scrolling, and news broadcasts where messaging may be triggering.

If you are interested in receiving help for yourself or someone you are concerned about, community resources are available here:

Community Resources:
· Chautauqua County Crisis Hotline: 1-800-724-0461, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week;
· Chautauqua County Mental Hygiene Mobile Crisis Team : (716) 363-3684 available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. ;
· Chautauqua County Mental Hygiene Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, Jamestown: (716) 661-8330, Dunkirk: (716) 363-3550;
· UPMC Chautauqua Outpatient Behavioral Health Program, Dunkirk: (716) 363-0018, Jamestown (716) 664-8641;
· The Resource Center Mental Health Services, Jamestown: (716) 661-1590, Dunkirk: (716) 366-7660;
· Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County, Support and Linkages: (716) 661-9044;
· The Chautauqua Center, Jamestown: (716) 484-4334, Dunkirk (716) 363-6050;
· Family Service of the Chautauqua Region: 1-888-358-3899;
· NYS HOPEline , telephone support and referral line available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to treat addictions. Text or call: 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369);
· National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988;
· Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the USA, anytime, about any crisis;
· Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website www.SAMHSA.gov can provide additional information and resources for mental health care. Their national Disaster Distress Helpline, 1-800-985-5990, is available 24/7, 365 days a year.

Tom Reed

Congressman Tom Reed focused on May being Mental Health Awareness month, saying the silos between mental health and substance use treatment must be eliminated.

Reed said the mental health and substance abuse crisis is real, “It’s becoming a larger and larger problem across America. And we need to reduce the stigma for people to reach out, especially with May as mental health awareness month, to reach out and not be afraid. And it’s a sign of strength, not weakness when you reach out for help when you deal with mental health and substance abuse.”

Reed said mental illness can affect anyone, saying his father died by suicide when Reed was just two years old, “…dealing with PTSD issues and so it hit my life from day one, from the day I was two years old. And I would hope that his death could serve as an awakening for so many. It served as an awakening for me in regards to recognizing the issues that I faced as a result of that and primarily other items in dealing with mental health issues and substance abuse.”

Reed said the division between mental health and substance use treatment has been long standing and makes no sense, “By our laws, by our policy prevent substance abuse providers to see those who are in mental health crisis, to cross through those silos, and make it next to impossible for mental health providers and substance abuse treatment to be linked together in one seamless type of healthcare system when it comes to these issues.”

Reed added that despite this, people who need help should still reach out as there are tremendous resources available.

If you are facing a mental health and/or substance use disorder, you can reach out 24/7 to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or online at https://www.samhsa.gov/

According to organizers, the Open Table model was first introduced in Chautauqua County in 2011 and has impacted six local residents who have been served by tables started by 10 local churches.

Chautauqua County is one of only three nationwide communities awarded funds through a federal System of Care (SOC) grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to partner with Open Table.

The program is designed to educate and train church members to guide the homeless and families in poverty back into the community by changing their circumstances while accessing the “intellectual and social capital” available within a congregation. A group of volunteers compose a “table” and commit an hour a week for a year to help the youth, individual, or family to meet goals that they have established in a document called a life plan.

An Open Table Exploration event took place this past Saturday in Bemus Point, with local participants discussing their experience and providing information to others who were interested in participating in the program.

Open Table launched in Arizona in 2006 and is now operating in almost 20 states with plans for ongoing national expansion. More information on the Open Table model is also available at www.theopentable.org.