Information-rich public libraries using their websites, facilities to address the ever-increasing demand for counseling, housing, and substance abuse services.
Librarian Judith Bergeron answers the phone in her office at the Smithville Public Library in Smithville, Texas, on March 11, 2024.SMITHVILLE – When the COVID-19 pandemic first shut down the Smithville Public Library, it was as if a vital community artery had been severed.
The book clubs were such a hit in conservative Bastrop County, some of the participants joined the library’s general monthly book club, and the LGBTQ+ book club still meets monthly. And more recently, the St. David Foundation, a grantmaking organization for Central Texas, and its partners, Via Hope, a mental health nonprofit, and RAND, a research organization, allocated $1.5 million to eight Central Texas libraries as part of a three-year pilot program that will end in December.“We chose libraries because they are open to the public and trusted by people of all demographics.
This new resources have allowed rural libraries to pitch in and help address the growing mental health need in their communities. In 2019 in Texas, 14% of the state’s 3,891 suicides occurred in rural areas, though only accounting for 11% of Texas residents. That’s when Flores learned of a peer-support specialist job with the St. David’s Foundation As a peer support specialist, Flores would be taking their own lived experience and using it to help others find mental health help, a sort of professional mentor.Credit: Maria Crane for The Texas Tribune
“They asked me to talk to her, and when I approached her, I just asked if she was all right and if she wanted to get something to eat,” Flores said. “That was the start of our relationship.” Peer support specialists must highlight to their clients that there is no defined set of tasks or one road to recovery and wellness.
“People tend to gravitate towards the library because it’s free, and a lot of mentally unstable people have limited funds. They naturally go somewhere where it’s not going to cost them anything,” McLean said. “I always thought to myself they need a mental health worker here because just having someone to talk to helped me so much.”
“Every time she goes in for treatment, she goes to the library to get some books because she knows she will be sitting for a long time. She said we felt like part of her recovery team and started to cry when I gave her the heart,” Bergeron said. “She now has her chemo group helping make pocket hearts for the library.”South of Waco, the Hewitt Public Library has tapped American Library Association funds to create mental health kits, including stress balls and fidget spinners.
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