North Valley Community Foundation started a support program for young people experiencing suicidal ideations several years ago. The Community Assessment Response and Education team (CARE) has served around 500 young people and caregivers since it started in 2021. Youth who reach out to the organization are connected with coaches who share similar interests.
Erin Morrissey, CARE’s program manager, said coaches can also help connect them with other resources.
“If they need connection to a traditional therapist, then the coach will help them do that. If they need to get reconnected with an activity that they used to really find a lot of joy in and have fallen away from it, then they’ll try to get them reconnected with that,” Morrissey said.
North Valley Community Foundation has been in charge of CARE since it started, but plans have always been in place to eventually hand off control to another organization.
The nonprofit Healthy Rural California has stepped up and will be taking over its management in July.
Michele Thorpe, youth mental health and suicide prevention coordinator with the CARE team, said the new nonprofit will bring in more healthcare practitioners.
“We’ve met some of them and these residents that are coming for this program are amazing,” Thorpe said. “They have a passion for youth and they have an understanding of mental health.”
Healthy Rural California is an accredited residency program for psychiatric residents and will be adding a program for family medicine next year. They are applying for grants and organizing a fundraising campaign to support their expansion in the area.
While organizational growth is necessary to provide services the community needs, Thorpe emphasized that supporting young people doesn’t have to be complicated.
“I think when we talk about something as heavy as youth suicide, it can be a very daunting topic, and people get really discouraged and don't know where to start. And what we've done is just formalized a very simple form of connection for young people to just be heard and to listen, and anyone can do that,” Thorpe said.
CARE urges anyone who is concerned that a young person might be suicidal to call or text 530-783-2273 to be connected with support. The CARE phone number is not a crisis line. Those experiencing a mental health crisis can call 911, or the National Alliance on Mental Illness hotline at 988.
