San Luis Obispo County’s increasing rate of suicide attempts, overdoses, and mental health crises-related hospitalizations among teenagers alarmed Executive Director Tom Buckley and his team at Aspire Counseling Services.
“We have a high amount of suicides compared to the national average, and we have a low amount of resources and services in this county,” Buckley said.
Aspire has chapters in eight locations total where local collaboration exists. But SLO County stood out for a bleak reason, according to Buckley.
“[Elsewhere,] we can get someone into supportive groups, therapy, counseling, eating disorder specialists, grief specialists,” he said. “Here, everyone has a waiting list, everyone is full, no one takes insurance. So, it’s a real struggle to get services for our clients once they’re done with our program.”
After five years in the county and hundreds of teenagers treated, Aspire is gearing up to host a teen wellness forum in Atascadero on Oct. 14. The walk-in event will take place in SpringHill Suites Conference Center, 900 El Camino Real, from 4 to 6 p.m.
The forum underscores Aspire’s intensive outpatient program for local teens that they can access instead of going to a residential setting for resources and treatment. In fact, Buckley told New Times that SLO County doesn’t have a residential option in the first place. At Aspire, the teenagers get clinical services five days a week and up to six hours a day, all while being able to go to school and receive homework support.
The Atascadero event is a co-hosted by Aspire, nonprofit Knowing You Matter, and the SLO County Office of Education. They’re coming together to provide education; resources like prevention, early intervention, and treatment through counseling; and information on how to navigate those resources. Aspire works with the county, to provide such care. People with Medi-Cal can receive services from the county while private insurance holders can go to Aspire.
“When you’re in a mental health crisis or your family is, it’s really hard to navigate those services,” Buckley said. “Getting that information out now before they’re in a crisis is a great way to reduce the chaos and link people to the care they need before they need it.”
The forum will feature Licensed Clinical Social Worker Lisa Huet as the keynote speaker. Huet is also Aspire’s clinical supervisor, and she’ll provide a presentation on how to help a loved one once they’ve been diagnosed with a mental health issue.
Buckley encourages teens across the county to attend with their parents, other family members, guardians, or caregivers, and he also invites teachers and even school administrators to check out the event.
They can all access different breakout sessions that will center on mental health coping tools, grief and support, and suicide prevention. A resource fair will take place during the entirety of the forum, which will provide education, information, and free services.
Buckley added that present-day teenagers are dealing with a wholly different set of circumstances than their predecessors.
“Coming out of the COVID pandemic, these kids have trauma just from being part of the pandemic,” he said. “Trauma from missing out on all of the social connections during that time, from missing out on education, and they also spent on exorbitant amount of time online.”
The Atascadero forum isn’t Aspire’s first event catered to SLO County’s youth this year. In March, the counseling service group hosted a similar gathering at SLO’s Mission Prep high school where they talked to hundreds of teenagers about the opioid epidemic and the fentanyl crisis. Buckley anticipates a similar-sized gathering in Atascadero too.
“We want to connect the community to resources, and we want to reduce the stigma and shame surrounding mental health and mental wellness,” he said. “Just like it’s OK to be physically fit, it’s OK to be mentally fit, and it’s OK to ask for help.”
Fast fact
• The Commission on the Status of Women and Girls is conducting its annual drive for feminine hygiene and incontinence products until Oct. 14. Community members can drop off their donations at any library in SLO County. The products will be distributed to local shelters and food banks. For more information, visit facebook.com/SLO.CSW. Δ
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Oct 12-19, 2023.