TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum announced in his State of the City address that he plans to work with the Tulsa City Council to delegate $1 million in funding for Tulsa’s very first 24/7 urgent mental health crisis center dedicated solely to helping children and families in crisis, Youth Evaluation Services or “YES Tulsa.”
“4,000 Tulsa County children attempt suicide annually, and in the last year a record 1,300 kids in mental health distress flooded Tulsa County emergency rooms,” Bynum said. “4,000 kids. That means on average today, while we’re gathered here, 10 kids across our county will attempt to end their lives. We have to do better than this.”
YES Tulsa Program Director Solmaz Bulut said there was a lack of immediate options for kids experiencing mental health emergencies.
“They’re taken to the ER or they try to make an appointment with outpatient services; but since we have YES Tulsa, they will be able to do walk-ins or they can call,” Bulut said.
YES Tulsa can provide an immediate evaluation and stabilization for children in a safe family-friendly atmosphere.
YES Tulsa Clinical Director Andre Campbell said early intervention is important.
“The best place to start is when they are young, when we’re able to make the influence that we’re able to,” Campbell said.
Jeff Dismuke with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services said emergency room beds are over capacity as families struggle to find solutions.
“It is absolutely the right thing to do to make these services available now and help families have better access to the care they need,” Dismukes said.
People can also call the new national lifeline, 9-8-8, when there is a mental health emergency.
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