KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — According to Ben Harrington, CEO of the Mental Health Association of East Tennessee (MHAET), about 8,500 people go to an emergency room for mental health needs every year in Knox County.
That is why the MHAET works to intervene early, or "before stage four", as Harrington would call it. Harrington said there are several ways in which they are trying to accomplish that goal.
First, they established a school-based program called Mental Health 101. In 2021, they served 32,000 middle and high school students at 149 schools.
The MHAET also provides a free mental health screening program, which helps people identify their treatment needs by taking an online screening to figure out what exactly is troubling them.
"Do they struggle with stress or are they struggling with something far worse, like anxiety or depression?" Harrington mentioned. "It helps them get a name for what it is and know it is diagnosable and treatable."
They also operate a call center that is available six days a week. You can contact it by calling 865-584-9125.
"All of the employees are persons with lived experience who have a diagnosis, have been in treatment and are in long-term recovery," Harrington explained. "And there is no one else better suited to help someone start their journey to find a place and get on the road to recovery than someone that has actually walked that walk and gotten the t-shirt for it."
This fall, the MHAET is starting a new program called the Treatment Access Bank. It is meant for people who are above 138% of poverty and cannot afford their co-pays and deductibles.
"We do not want those folks to suffer for an indefinite period of time before ever getting help," Harrington added. "We want to move their access up. So we have gotten away with some very generous supporters and we have been able to secure funds that will allow us to help people enter therapy. We can help pay the bill so they can get therapy provided so that they can mitigate their mental health issues."
The MHAET is also preparing to open a psychiatric emergency room. Harrington said that the new facility will relieve the pressure on a regular emergency room. He added that the project is about a year away from completion.