In this video we look at mental health crisis workers who balance taking care of others and themselves.
Watch Online NowShowcase
FEATURED STORIES

WBFO
Resilience Event urges Buffalo's young people to hang tough
It's been a tough year for Buffalo's young people, hit with social distancing, face masks and going to school from their living room.
MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE
WBFO’s Mental Health Initiative is to normalize the conversation about mental illness by bringing this issue from the shadows into everyday light. This two-year project will provide in-depth coverage of mental health issues and help to build the mental health literacy of our community.

WBFO
Maintaining your mental health during COVID-19
A quarantine may pose an additional challenge in successfully maintaining one's mental health. WBFO's Nick Lippa looks into what to keep in mind while self-isolating.

WBFO
"Music is my salvation"
Karl Shallowhorn spoke with WBFO’s Nick Lippa about how music and WBNY helped him graduate after he received his bipolar disorder diagnosis.

WBFO
How Buddhist chanting helps Lisa Maria Cruz
WBFO's Nick Lippa talks to Lisa Maria Cruz about how chanting impacts her schizophrenia.
Latest Stories from the WBFO Mental Health Initiative
Community Conversations

Watch Now
Mental Health and Policing
WBFO News Director Dave Debo hosts “Mental Health and Policing: Do Crisis Intervention Teams Work?,” a dialogue about the various changes under consideration in Buffalo, including greater use of Crisis Intervention Teams, embedding social workers with police, and other reforms under broader consideration.

WBFO's Mental Health Initiative Facebook Live events are an engaging way to connect with the community through social media. Each event is focused on a singular topic and brings different experiences and perspectives together into one conversation.
Our conversations have focuses on the changes in mental health treatment over the years, the New York State mandate for teaching mental health, how inside Crisis Services hotlines respond to citizens in need, personal experiences of living with mental illness, and how mental illness is portrayed in pop culture. Watch them online now.
As COVID-19 leaves us in in a dual crisis of physical and mental health, Thursdays in April and May WBFO hosted a series of Facebook live discussions on mental health related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Your Mental Health During COVID-19| Facebook Live Series | Watch Now

As part of our mental health initiative, WBFO hosted a series of Facebook Live discussions on your mental health related to the coronavirus pandemic. Each Thursday in April and May on WBFO’s Facebook page we presented information to help you understand how this pandemic can affect your mental health. We talked about coping, quarantine, isolation and more.
Support for the WBFO Mental Health Initiative is provided by the Patrick P. Lee Foundation.
Watch Online Now
Thursday, May 21
Your Mental Health during COVID-19 | Addiction & Suicide
WBFO welcomed credentialed alcohol and substance abuse counselor Karl Shallowhorn to talk about addiction and risk of suicide amidst a global pandemic. He spoke about integrated treatment, the biology of addiction, and how mental health first aid can help you assess someone's risk of suicide.
Thursday, May 14
YMH during COVID-19 | Frontline & Essential Workers
Dave Debo, WBFO’s News Director, talks with psychiatrist Dr. Sourav Sengupta from UBMD Psychiatry and Oishei Children’s Hospital about the mental health of those facing COVID-19 on the front lines - first responders, healthcare workers and those in essential businesses.
Thursday, May 7
YMH during COVID-19 | Older Adults & Isolation
Dave Debo, News Director, welcomes Dr. Ursuline Bankhead, a psychologist working in geriatrics and with older adults at the VA WNY Healthcare Center. She answers questions and comments from older adults and their caregivers regarding the range of emotions this population is experiencing during this pandemic.
Thursday, April 30
Your Mental Health during COVID-19 | Children and Adolescent
Dave Debo, News Director, welcomed Dr. Aimee DiPasqua, a child psychiatrist from Spectrum Health and Human Services. She answered questions and comments from parents and other caregivers regarding the range of emotions children are experiencing during this pandemic.
Thursday, April 24
Your Mental Health during COVID-19 | PTSD
Host Dave Debo, WBFO’s News Director, talked with local Advanced Practice Clinician, Ofer Ziv, from Horizon Health Services about signs and symptoms of PTSD, how you can help those who struggle with it, and how this health crisis is having an impact on all of us.
Thursday, April 16
Your Mental Health during COVID-19 | Stress and Anxiety
Host Dave Debo, WBFO’s News Director, talked with local mental health counselor, Erin M. Moss about stress and anxiety.
Your Mental Health During COVID-19| Podcast Series
More on Mental Health from Public Media
PBS NewsHour
How social distancing can impact mental health
How social distancing can impact mental health
Healthy Minds with Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein
The Intersection of Physical & Mental Health
Experts share their experiences working on the forefront of health care integration.
Healthy Minds with Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein
Minority Issues in Mental Health Care
Explore issues many minority communities face in seeking help for mental health issues.
Healthy Minds with Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein
Youth Mental Wellness
Explore how school, teachers and parents can help normalize mental health issues.
Healthy Minds with Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein
Stem Cell Research & Mental Health
Scientists can re-program adult skin and blood cells to advance the detection of diseases.
FRONTLINE
Right to Fail
Investigating the NY effort to let those with severe mental illnesses live on their own.
On Point |
ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Shares Her Story Of 'Life After Suicide'
The national suicide epidemic hits home for ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton. Her new book is "Life After Suicide."
PBS NewsHour
Why we can’t ‘arrest ourselves out of’ mental illness
Mental illness ‘is not a problem that we can arrest ourselves out of’
PBS NewsHour
Why mental illness 'should never be a crime'
A mother's story of why mental illness 'should never be a crime'
PBS NewsHour
In Liberia, mental illness is the new health crisis
In Liberia, survivors of Ebola and civil war now struggle with mental illness
PBS NewsHour
New generation faces mental ‘wounds of war’
New generation faces mental ‘wounds of war’
PBS NewsHour
Journalist's journey guided by her father's illness
A journalist's journey, guided by curiosity for her father's illness
PBS NewsHour
Crisis team helps those with mental health issues avoid jail
An estimated 2 million people suffering from mental illness are booked into county jails.
PBS NewsHour
'Portraits of Resilience' destigmatize depression at MIT
Students at MIT are now part of a project to give a face and voice to a growing crisis.
PBS NewsHour
What it’s like to be arrested while suffering mental illness
Paton Blough uses his experiences to help train police officers in crisis management.
PBS NewsHour
Treating mental illness with medicine and religion in India
Treating mental illness with medicine and religion in India
PBS NewsHour
Mental illness consumed my marriage -- until this epiphany
Why we should redefine how we cope with illnesses to include the voice of caregivers.
PBS NewsHour
Refugees in need of mental health help flounder on Lesbos
Middle Eastern refugees are in need of mental health help on the island of Lesbos.
PBS NewsHour
Kids and smartphones: What's the mental health impact?
Smartphones have changed the way kids live and interact, prompting growing concerns.
PBS NewsHour
More on smartphones
An increasingly wireless world is taking a toll on an entire generation's mental health.
PBS NewsHour
The devastating, underdiagnosed toll of toxic stress on kids
The devastating, underdiagnosed toll of toxic stress on kids
Local, USA
Kids in Crisis: You're Not Alone
The mental health journeys of four young people, told entirely in their own words.
Above The Noise
Survival Guide: How to Handle Family Stress
You’re likely spending more time at home these days - which can lead to family tension.

Side Effects Public Media
Out Of Options
Parents Of Children With Mental Illness Trade Custody For Treatment

Missouri HEalth TAlks
Mental Health and Disability
'I Was Depressed Before I Was Blind"

RESOURCES
General Support
For general support, help finding a counselor or mental health resource in in Erie County, contact The Mental Health Advocates of WNY at 716-886-1242
Link: http://www.eriemha.org/
NAMI-Buffalo & Erie County
Link: http://namibuffalony.org/
NYS Office of Mental Health
Link: https://omh.ny.gov/omhweb/bootstrap/providers.html
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for Primary Care
Link: www.cappcny.org/home
Just Tell One Campaign:
Link: http://justtellone.org/
Several of the counties and agencies in WNY have compiled lists of providers:
In Erie County:
List of Providers
Link: http://www2.erie.gov/mentalhealth/index.php?q=list-contract-agencies
Assisted Outpatient Providers (Kendra's Law) Link: http://www2.erie.gov/mentalhealth/index.php?q=assisted-outpatient-treatment
Chemical Dependence Services
Link: http://www2.erie.gov/mentalhealth/index.php?q=erie-county-chemical-dependency-treatment-resource-guide
In Niagara County:
List of Providers
Link http://www.mhanc.com/programs-service-providers.php
In Chautauqua County:
List of Providers
Link: http://chautauqua.ny.us/DocumentCenter/View/1289/CCMH-Emergency-Phone-Numbers?bidId=
Campaigns
Just Tell One, from the Mental Health Association of Erie County
Link: http://justtellone.org/
Let’s Talk Stigma, from the Erie County Anti Stigma Coalition
Link: https://letstalkstigma.org/
Suicide Helplines and Prevention Resources
24 Hour Crisis Hotline Buffalo & Erie County
716-834-3131
24 Hour Addiction Hotline
716-831-7007
Kids Helpline
16-834-1144
1-877-KIDS-400
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-8255.
Allegany County
Crisis Line: 888-448-3367 (24 hour)
Chautauqua County Suicide Prevention and Crisis Hotline
1-800-724-0461
Cattaraugus County
Olean General Hospital 24 Hour Crisis Hotline 1-800-339-5209
Orleans County
The Care and Crisis Help Line
585-283-5200 Text: 741741
Niagara
24 Hour Crisis Services
716-285-3515
Genesee County
585-283-5200
Text: 741741
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-8255.
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
https://afsp.org/chapter/afsp-western-new-york/
From the National Institute of Mental Health:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255); En Español 1-888-628-9454
The Lifeline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. People who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have hearing loss can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889.
Crisis Text Line
Text “HELLO” to 741741
The Crisis Text hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the U.S. The Crisis Text Line serves anyone, in any type of crisis, connecting them with a crisis counselor who can provide support and information.
Veterans Crisis Line
Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and press 1 or text to 838255
The Veterans Crisis Line is a free, confidential resource that connects veterans 24 hours a day, seven days a week with a trained responder. The service is available to all veterans, even if not registered with the VA or enrolled in VA healthcare. Veterans who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have hearing loss can call 1-800-799-4889.
Disaster Distress Helpline
Call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746
The disaster distress helpline provides immediate crisis counseling for people who are experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster. The helpline is free, multilingual, confidential, and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness Hotline: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)
FEATURED VIDEOS
Just Tell One
How to Have Your Just Tell One Conversation On Mental Health
Telling one person about a mental health or addiction issue is a simple concept, but that doesn't make it easy. Youth and professionals explain the steps to starting the conversation.
PBS NewsHour
How students who struggle with mental illness can find help
These three high-achieving students at one of the world's most prestigious universities have also suffered crippling depression and been through years of therapy and medication. In the second part of his report, Jeffrey Brown hears how they got help with debilitating illness, then learns more about student mental health challenges and solutions from Alfiee Breland-Noble of Georgetown University.
Video/Audio from WBFO's Mental Health Initiative
WBFO
Dan & George; One man treats his depression by giving ba
It is estimated that 300-million people suffer from depression across the world. Experts say it's important to take action to deal with it. As part of our Mental Health Initiative, WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley says a local attorney found a way to help others as a way of enhancing his own mood.
Erie County & Suicide prevention leaders kicked Suicide Prevention Week Tuesday. A yellow 'Flag of Hope' was hoisted up the flag pole in front of the county Rath Building in downtown Buffalo.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/eileen.buckley/videos/10155776108183441/
A woman who escaped domestic violence and conquered alcoholism is sharing her story to offer hope for others. Jillian James who says a women's shelter and food assistance saved her life.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/eileen.buckley/videos/10155690438383441
Classroom Resources

PBS Learningmedia Collection
Youth Mental Health | Grades 6-13+
These classroom resources explore answers to depression, anxiety, toxic stress, and suicide through the lens of experts, educators, parents, and youth.
The focus of WBFO’s Mental Health Initiative is to normalize the conversation about mental illness by bringing this issue from the shadows into everyday light. This two-year project will provide in-depth coverage of mental health issues and help to build the mental health literacy of our community.
WBFO's Mental Health Initiative is funded by the Patrick P. Lee Foundation