Each day, about 50 people reach out to Lakeview Center seeking support for mental health or substance use challenges, a reminder that these needs touch every part of our community.
For more than 70 years, our highly skilled team members have walked alongside individuals and families during some of their most challenging moments. Like other chronic illnesses, mental health and substance use conditions cannot be addressed by a single organization. They must be understood and supported in the communities where people live, work, worship and connect with others.
That is why partnership is at the center of our work.
One of the defining strengths of Northwest Florida is our willingness to come together when our neighbors need help. Lakeview Center collaborates closely with schools, local governments, law enforcement, hospitals, courts, churches and other nonprofit organizations. Together, we form a network that helps individuals and families access care when they need it most.
The need remains significant. Each year, Lakeview Center serves more than 29,000 adults and children across Northwest Florida through more than 60 programs, including outpatient counseling, crisis intervention, residential treatment and community-based services. That figure reflects steady growth in the number of people who turn to Lakeview Center for care each year, increasing from 25,000 individuals served annually just two years ago to more than 29,000 this year.
Each increase represents thousands more children, adults and families seeking mental health and substance use support in our community.
Yet families and community leaders continue to tell us there is still a shortage of mental health and substance use services. That gap reflects not failure, but the depth and urgency of the need in our region.
Earlier this month, Lakeview Center marked two years of operating the region’s adult Central Receiving Facility and Crisis Stabilization Unit on our Pensacola campus. In that time, our team has completed more than 7,500 Baker Act screenings. These numbers represent neighbors in mental health crisis who needed immediate care and trust in a system designed to meet them with dignity.
The Central Receiving Facility model allows individuals experiencing a mental health crisis to receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time. It reduces unnecessary emergency room visits and allows law enforcement officers to return to patrol duties in an average of 11 minutes. Most importantly, it connects people to follow-up care instead of sending them back into the community without support.
This progress happened because our community chose collaboration over working in silos. Elected officials, county leaders, judges, law enforcement agencies, hospital systems and behavioral health professionals worked together to improve how our community responds to crisis. The results are stronger systems and better outcomes for the people we serve.
As we observe Mental Health Awareness Month in May, it is also important to consider what individuals and families can do to support their own mental well-being and that of others. Staying connected to trusted people, maintaining daily routines, prioritizing sleep and physical activity and talking openly about stress or emotional challenges can help build resilience. Just as important is recognizing when professional support is needed.
Warning signs may include ongoing sadness or anxiety, withdrawal from normal activities, changes in sleep or appetite, substance use or thoughts of self-harm. Reaching out early can help prevent a crisis and support recovery.
Mental health care saves lives, but it works best when it is supported by the entire community. Progress is possible because this community chooses to show up. Continued collaboration allows Lakeview Center to strengthen services and respond to unmet needs. When the community invests in mental health, we build a safer, healthier region where recovery is possible for everyone.
This Mental Health Awareness Month, I encourage community members to stay engaged, learn more about available resources and be part of the conversation around mental health. Information about Lakeview Center and ways to get involved can be found at eLakeviewCenter.org and through our social media channels.
Shawn Salamida is president of Lakeview Center and currently serves on the Florida Behavioral Health Association board of directors.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Mental health is community responsibility in Northwest Florida | Opinion
Reporting by Shawn Salamida, Guest columnist / Pensacola News Journal
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