JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For many experiencing homelessness, like Dave MacDuffie, it’s a trying and unsettling experience.
“There’s good people out here, and there’s people that... you don’t never know what you’re gonna wake up to,” MacDuffie told Action News Jax on Friday.
That often nerve-wracking uncertainty makes the need for mental health resources at shelters like Sulzbacher even more important. Those resources can often also provide a chance at long-lasting rehabilitation.
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The National Institute of Health estimates two thirds of the homeless population may experience some kind of mental health disorder, often making reentry into society an uphill battle.
“A lot of the folks we do encounter, particularly those who have been on the streets for a long time, you know, do have mental health and substance use concerns,” explained Colleen Bell, the president of Sulzbacher’s health division. “A lot of them have cycled in and out of various systems. And really, what they need is that wraparound support.”
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On Friday, members of the American Association for Community Psychiatry came from all over the country to learn from Sulzbacher’s model of mental health recovery among underserved populations.
“That’s what we can bring back, I think to our own cities and practices,” Beth Finkelstein, the executive director for the AACP explained. “Thinking about all the great work that’s being done here in Jacksonville, how can we apply that in other cities and throughout the nation?”
Leaders from the American Association for Community Psychiatry also met with Mayor Donna Deegan and JFRD about their efforts in our city to address its mental health needs.
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