What's Up? Wellness Checkups provides mental health screenings for suicide risk, depression, and anxiety to 9th grade students and any grade student upon request. Screenings are voluntary and confidential, with followup support provided for treatment connections.

How to get screened
Parent/guardian permission slips are downloadable at https://www.whatsupwellness.com/programs/screenings

Additional services may include

• Mindfulness, drumming, writing, and expressive arts groups
• Spanish translation services
• Teen, Adult, and Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings for the community at large and schools

Web pages

• Home - https://www.whatsupwellness.com/

Anew Day offers free lay counseling and low-cost professional therapy to individuals, couples, and families. Services address emotional, relational, and mental health needs for all ages.

Services include:

• Lay counseling and peer support for adults, teens, and children
• Professional therapy sessions at reduced rates
• Support for depression, anxiety, addiction, eating disorders, trauma, abuse, and social or relationship challenges
• Therapeutic art classes and group sessions for emotional expression and healing
• Communication skills training, boundary setting, and healthy coping strategies
• Volunteer training for lay counseling

Web pages

• Home - https://www.anew-day.com/
• Counseling - https://www.anew-day.com/counseling-services

The SPIRIT Peer Empowerment Center offers peer-led wellness and recovery services through its Wellness Drop-In Center. The program creates a safe and supportive space for people experiencing mental health challenges, grief, or crisis to connect with trained peer supporters.

Services include:

• One-on-one peer support and recovery planning
• Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP), offered individually or in group settings
• Suicide prevention support, including peer-led groups and grief support for those who have lost someone to suicide
• Peer Support Specialist training, offered as a 16-week course with ongoing supervision
• Support groups and wellness-based activities offered throughout the week

All services are peer-run and grounded in lived experience. See the online calendar for group schedules and drop-in hours.

Web pages

• Home - https://spiritcenter.org/
• Programs & Services - https://spiritcenter.org/programs/
• Calendar - https://spiritcenter.org/calendar/

The Spirit Peer Empowerment Center offers peer-led services and activities for people experiencing mental health challenges, substance use, or housing instability.

Basic needs & support services:

• Naloxone (Narcan) on-site for opioid overdose
• Food, clothing, and period product distribution
• Hot showers (5 per day, 10am-1:30pm; arrive early; ADA-compliant but not roll-in)
• Laundry and clothing closet access
• Assistance with Medi-Cal, CalFresh, and housing applications
• Lifeline phones for eligible Nevada County residents (Wednesdays, 9am-3pm; photo ID and proof of income required)

Recovery & planning groups:

• WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) | 8-week course
• Housing Circle; application support and housing navigation (call 530-274-1431 for schedule)
• Peer support groups for:
  • Co-occurring disorders
  • Identity Diversity (LGBTQ+)
  • Anxiety and depression
  • A Diagnosis with Dignity
  • Men’s and women’s groups

Wellness & creative activities:

• Restorative yoga and guided wellness sessions
• Beading for We…

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NEO offers a fun, safe, and supervised place for youth and young adults, ages 11-18, to spend their time after school, build friendships, learn new skills, and discover their passions. Several hundred youth participate in NEO every year. NEO provides leadership opportunities, summer programs, music events, and in-school activities. Some events will have age limits, check the website for details.

Web pages

• Home - https://bffyouth.org/
• NEO - https://bffyouth.org/neo/

Foothills Compassionate Care provides bereavement and community Services for comfort, support, and education to those who have experienced the loss of a loved one, including loved ones lost to suicide. Grief support services are available to anyone in the community.

Web pages

• Home - https://foothills-cares.org/
• Bereavement/grief support - https://foothills-cares.org/grief-support/

Call 9-1-1 if You Are in Danger or to Report an Emergency Situation
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If you or someone you know has a behavioral health crisis or emergency call
24-hour crisis line 530-265-5811
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Crisis Services
The Crisis Team provides 24- hour services to any individual adult or child in the community in a behavioral health or emotional crisis.

• 24/7 mobile crisis services
• Phone counseling for individuals in a mental health crisis or urgent situation
• In person assessment for individuals during a behavioral health crisis at the local emergency room
  • Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital in Western Nevada County
  • Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee
• Admittance to Psychiatric Inpatient Services under Welfare and Institutions Code 5150
• After hours referrals for behavioral health services and other county services
• Crisis services are contracted with the Sierra Mental Wellness Group.

Mental Health Urgent Care - Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU)
The Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) offers a 23-… [read more]

NAMI Nevada County (National Alliance for Mental Illness) offers a free 8 week educational program that helps family members and friends understand mental illness symptoms, basics of brain biology, problem solving, medications, empathy, communication skills, self-care, rehabilitation, fighting stigma, and advocacy.

Course offered twice a year. Contact NAMI for dates.

Web pages

• Home - https://www.naminevadacounty.org/home-1
  
  
  
  

In addition to specific resources noted below, people may find support for attending to grief and loss from the following:

• Spiritual or cultural affiliations you may already have (including Native American or other Indigenous traditions; religious traditions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism)
• Clergy; Chaplains (may be affiliated with hospitals, hospice, law enforcement agencies, etc)
• Hospices & hospitals
• Psychotherapists & counselors
• Recommendations and resources from family and friends 

RESOURCES

• Bereaved Parents of the USA - www.bereavedparentsusa.org. Find local chapters and other resources.
• Compassionate Friends – www.thecompassionatefriends.org. A self-help organization for bereaved families that have experienced the death of a child. Find local chapters and other resources.
• County of Placer District Attorney’s Office - https://www.placer.ca.gov/8704/Grief. Includes list of books addressing grief in general, and for specific kinds of losses; sup…

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The Healing Through Loss & Grief support group provides anyone who has experienced a significant emotional loss with an opportunity to meet with other grievers in a safe, caring, and supportive environment. The goal is to assist each other in the healing through grief process. Features weekly meetings and assignments.

Offered twice a year, usually in January and August, sessions are 13 weeks. The first two weeks are open to anyone, then the group is closed for the remaining weeks for those who wish to continue the process. It's best to attend all sessions, but one or two absences because of another commitment would be fine.

For more information contact Maureen Gerecke at FREED 530-477-3333 or maureen@freed.org.

Web pages

• Grief Group -
  https://freed.org/services/peer-support/grief-group/
• Healing Through Loss & Grief - https://lossandgrief.org/

This resource is eligible for electronic referral.