What If This Is the Moment We Rise?

How a Local Crisis Line is Reimagining Mental Health Care in Alameda County

By Narges Zohoury Dillon, Executive Director, Crisis Support Services of Alameda County

🧠 Every 40 seconds, someone in the world dies by suicide. But every day, thousands more reach out — and someone answers.

A Time of Crisis. A Chance to Rise.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and at Crisis Support Services of Alameda County (CSS), we are not just raising awareness — we are rising to meet the moment.

Our phones are ringing off the hook.

Our community is navigating wave after wave of grief — from the pandemic, the housing crisis, violence, economic instability, and a collective uncertainty about what comes next. It’s no secret that mental health systems across the country are under strain.

But this is also a story about what’s possible when we respond with care.

Let me tell you what I’ve seen.

A True Story of Care in Action

Recently, after a suicide prevention training session, a participant reached out to share that she had connected her nephew to the crisis line because of what she had learned in the session. She felt more confident starting a hard conversation about suicide and was bolstered by the knowledge that she is not alone in this. She said the crisis counselor made them feel like they could get through this moment. This is the power of well informed communities — they can step in and be a bridge to care. This is especially important for people in places where helping systems have done harm.

CSS answers over 55,000 calls and texts each year. We do this while navigating rising demand, burnout in our field, and funding uncertainties. And we do it because every single life matters.

How We’re Adapting — And Why It Matters

Across the board — federal, state, county, and city — funding for prevention services is being slashed. Programs designed to interrupt crisis before it escalates are the first to go when budgets get tight. This moment demands more than just resilience. It calls for innovation rooted in care, justice, and community wisdom.

Here’s how we’re rising:

🏃‍♀️ Moving Together for Healing

We’ve launched *Healing Hearts: Walk/Run/MOVE! for Suicide Prevention* — a 15-year-strong tradition turning into a county-wide movement. Local businesses, runners, and families will gather on May 17th to say: no one is alone.

👥 ORCA: Community-Centered Care for Youth

Through our **ORCA program**, we provide wraparound crisis services to youth navigating high-acuity mental health needs. Our clinicians build relationships with families, offer school-based support, and create culturally informed pathways for healing. It’s not just about intervention — it’s about transformation.

🏫 School-Based Education and Early Intervention

Our **community education team** works directly with students, educators, and caregivers across Alameda County schools. From workshops on recognizing warning signs to assemblies on building emotional resilience, we’re planting seeds of prevention early — and making mental health visible, accessible, and actionable for all ages.

🌱 Supporting Seniors with Dignity

We’ve expanded our outreach to senior centers across Alameda County, offering emotional wellness groups, grief support, and crisis prevention for older adults navigating isolation, health concerns, and the loss of long-standing community ties. These are some of our most tender and courageous conversations.

A Glimpse Ahead: The 988 Conference

In September, CSS will host a regional **988 Virtual Conference **for the 4th year, bringing together hotline staff, mental health professionals, public health leaders, and peer advocates from across California.

We’ll explore the future of crisis response — what’s working, what’s not, and what we must reimagine. As the backbone of the 988 system in Alameda County, we’re proud to help shape what compassionate, community-rooted crisis care looks like at scale.

A Message to Journalists: This Is the Story

As a journalist, you already know: there’s more to this moment than just headlines about crisis.

There’s a deeper story here — of how mental health agencies are adapting, innovating, and organizing to meet rising need with compassion and courage.

Across Alameda County, agencies are:

• Embedding mental health educators in schools
• Expanding care networks for seniors and youth
• Piloting trauma-informed response models
• Building community-based strategies to reduce suicide

We invite you to dig deeper. *Reach out, this is a story worth telling.*

Want to Stay Connected?

📰 Subscribe to our newsletter to hear stories from the field, meet the people behind the hotline, and get first access to events, actions, and tools for collective care. From policy shifts to healing-centered practices, our quarterly dispatch brings you into the heart of the work.

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We’re telling a different kind of story — one grounded in collective care, not just crisis. And we want you to be part of it.

How You Can Take Action Today

📅 Join us May 17th for the Healing Hearts event: a day of movement, remembrance, and joy. 🌱 Share this story — with your networks, your newsroom, your community. 🗣️ Reach out to learn more about how CSS and other local mental health organizations are responding in this moment. 💌 Press and media inquiries: media@crisissupport.org

Because Hope Is a Practice

In times of despair, it can be tempting to ask: What difference can I really make?

But at CSS, we’ve learned that hope is not a feeling. It’s a practice. And it’s one we carry together.

So this Mental Health Month, I ask: What if this is the moment we rise?

Tags: #MentalHealthMonth #AlamedaCounty #AlamedaCountyCares #988Lifeline #988day #CrisisResponse #CollectiveCare #HealingHearts #YouthMentalHealth #SeniorWellness #SchoolMentalHealth #BayAreaNonprofits #CSSAlameda #CommunityCare