TAMPA, Fla. — For years the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay has offered help for people, including veterans, through their free 2-1-1 hotline. They assist vets with anything from mental health struggles, overcoming suicidal thoughts, even pointing them to financial resources, and now they can help with some medical needs too.
Thanks to a $50,000 grant from USAA, vets who call and have medical needs can get one-on-one support from a paramedic for ongoing medical issues while also working with a care coordinator to receive linkages to community resources and information for situational and behavioral health concerns.
"This is a nice opportunity to provide a holistic approach that combines the medical, as well as any kind of social service, need that a veteran might have and get them connected to the resources so that their quality of life might improve in the long term," said Clara Reynolds, Crisis Center of Tampa Bay president.
The crisis center said they take nearly 25,000 calls a year to assist veterans throughout the state.
The Crisis Center operates the Florida Veterans Support Line, where veterans can receive support and linkages to community resources from a veteran peer when they dial 1-844-MyFLVet (693-5838) or 211.
