Social Services
If you’ve ever tried to get information on housing, childcare, eldercare or other social services you know how difficult it can be. There are so many services out there, it’s hard to know where to start. A new service should make this process much easier. Simply by calling 2-1-1, residents of Contra Costa County and around the Bay Area will reach real people who can make referrals to local social service organizations and agencies. Dial 2-1-1 is a nationwide program, funded largely by United Way in cooperation with local agencies. It’s available in many parts of the country. Eventually it will be nationwide. Every county manages the service a little differently. The Contra Costa Crisis Center is handling 2-1-1 calls here.
Suicide
Prevention
988 Lifeline
By simply calling or texting 988 or chatting 988lifeline.org, you will be connected to compassionate care and support 24/7—whether you’re facing mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns, or just need someone to talk to. Please share this with someone to spread the word.
Befrienders Worldwide
Befrienders Worldwide provide international emotional support and suicide prevention.
National Alliance
on Mental Illness
The NAMI HelpLine is a free, confidential nationwide service that provides one-on-one emotional support, mental health information and resources needed to tackle tough challenges that you, your family or friends are facing.
1-800-950-NAMI (6264)
text: NAMI to 62640
helpline@nami.org
Mobile Crisis
Treatment Team
(415) 970-4000
(No referral or appointment needed)
Domestic
Violence
“While it is geared especially towards teens and younger adults, I really love the website www.loveisrespect.org. It is the sister site to the National Domestic Violence Hotline website, but does an excellent and nuanced deep dive into relationship dynamics, and can really help folks differentiate what is healthy, vs unhealthy, vs abusive behavior in a relationship. It’s really comprehensive and not biased for gender/sexual orientation and perpetration. Bonus points because it acknowledges and has dedicated information around the possibility that abuse is not just in the context of romantic relationships, and might be coming from your family or friends.”
This recommendation by Anna Livak Hale, LCSW, PMH-C quoted with permission.
Natural
Disasters
The Disaster Distress Helpline provides toll-free, multilingual crisis support service via telephone and SMS. Counseling available after disasters. Immediate help is available for those affected by, or who may need additional assistance after experiencing a natural or human-created disaster. The Disaster Distress Helpline is a national hotline that provides 24/7, year-round crisis counseling for people who are experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster. This resource is federally funded and provided by SAMHSA.
Parenting
Hand in Hand Parenting has a website with tons of articles and other resources, organized by topic.
Kids’ Turn / Safe and Sound Family Support Center also has lots of resources, including “Parenting Tips” specifically related to divorce and co-parenting.
Teens in Crisis
Crisis Support Services of Alameda County has a texting service especially for teens.