The Mental Health Association of Nassau County is dedicated to serving individuals facing mental health challenges, including veterans, at-risk youth and families. Our mission embodies evidence-based practices, education, and resources for the community in both clinical and residential settings, while maintaining a standard of excellence that is recognized throughout Long Island.
We are committed to improving mental health and wellness in the community through the delivery of direct services, as well as through advocacy, education, and training of behavioral health care professionals. We strive to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness and advocate for changes in services, policies, and procedures. We deliver services through an array of programming unmatched elsewhere in the community.
Veterans Services:
- Vet2Vet – Veterans Peer Support and networking groups for Nassau County Veterans as part of the Hoseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Project
- Veterans Health Alliance of Long Island (VHALI) – building a friendly veteran community by promoting the health and well-being of Long Island veterans and their families through advocacy, outreach, training, peer support and awareness.
- For more information: veteranshealthalliance.org
Rehabilitation and Support Services:
- Gathering Place PROS – Day program focusing on Personalized Recovery Oriented Services, where adults with mental illnesses actively participate in skill development toward employment, housing, education, wellness self-management and improving their health while working toward community integration.
- SOAR (Specialized Opportunities for Achieving Recovery) – SOAR is a “Clubhouse-like” program for recovery and social skills.
- Peer Services – This division of MHANC is staffed by trained peers with shared personal experiences in the mental health systems and recovery. Services include:
- Phone Link – Peer-to-peer warm line offers consumers a chance to talk to other consumers about recovery, relationships, work, school, problem-solving, etc.
- Turquoise House and Turquoise House II – Peer respite wellness centers that allow guests to use crisis as an opportunity, providing connection, hope, and a successful alternative to hospitalization.
- Peer-led support groups
- Financial Management – Helping those living with Mental Illness regain their financial independence.
- Health Home Care Coordination – Provides a professional to help navigate the mental health system and link individuals to services and support creating a comprehensive plan of care meeting physical, mental health and social service needs.
- Medicaid Service Coordination – A service that helps both adults and children with developmental disabilities gain access to necessary supports and services supporting community inclusion. Services include, but are not limited to, medical, social, educational and psycho-social needs..
- Crisis Respites for Families – This program provides an out of home residential stay for children with mental illness allowing families to benefit from some time apart.
- Hospital Discharge Coordination – Coordinates all children’s psychiatric discharges from Nassau County Hospitals to ensure comprehensive community linkages and supports.
- Compeer Program – Matches consumers with volunteer mentors to work towards recovery.
- Adult Family Support – Weekly support groups for adult family members and friends of consumers living with mental illnesses.
- Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) – Providing a wide variety of sperson-centered supports and services in non-institutional settings that enable adults and children with mental health challenges to remain at home and in the community.
HCBS Services for Adults:
- Community Psychiatric Support and Treatment: Clinical Mobile Teams work with individuals in their home setting. The focus is on wellness and building positive relationships with community providers and clinics.
- Peer Supports: Connections with staff members (peers) who have lived experience with mental illness and/or substance abuse.
- Family Support and Training: The goal is to help develop positive relationships with family members and friends- Case Manager’s help individual’s build and maintain healthy social connections and support.
- Psychosocial Rehabilitation: Case Managers will help manage your medication, appointments, healthy living and how to access services and supports in the community.
- Intensive Supported Employment: The goal is to assist you in locating a job via the use of individualized placement and support services. This includes rapid job search including the acquisition of hard and soft skills to retain employment, training and systematic instruction, as well as providing support for the job application process such as resume writing, interviewing and application submission.
- Ongoing Supported Employment: Get support in a variety of settings, particularly work sites where individuals with and without disabilities are employed. This included providing activities needed to sustain paid work by individuals, including supervision and training. In addition, staff will work on reminders of effective workplace practices and reinforcement of recovery skills.
- Prevocational Services: Learn to identify career goals. A vocational specialist will help you gain work-related experience considered crucial for job placement. You will learn about concepts such as work compliance, attendance, task completion, problem-solving, and safety.
- Short -Term Crisis Respite: Short-term Crisis Respite provides short-term care and intervention strategies to individuals who have a mental health or co-occurring disorder and are experiencing a crisis where the symptoms cannot be managed in the home. These supports include peers, health and wellness coaching, relapse prevention planning, wellness activities, family support, conflict resolution and other services as needed.
HCBS Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances and Autism:
- Skill Building Services: Activities designed to assist the child in acquiring, developing and addressing functional skills and support.
- Caregiver Family Support Groups & Services: Activities designed to enhance the ability of the child to function as part of a family unit and to increase the family’s ability to care for the child in the home and within the community.
- Habilitation: Services are intended to assist children/youth to acquire skills that did not progress along traditional trajectories due to their disability/diagnosis. Skill building services, guide, mentor, coach, and/or train the child and/or family/caregiver in successful functioning of the home and community.
- Crisis Respite Care: Short-term assistance and/or relief for children/youth with disabilities (developmental, physical and/or behavioral) and family/caregivers which can be provided in a planned mode or delivered in a crisis environment. Respite workers supervise the child/youth and engage the child in activities that support his/her and or caregiver/family’s constructive interests and abilities.
- Community Self Advocacy Training & Support: Intended to assist the child/youth, family/caregiver, and collateral contacts in understanding and addressing the participant’s needs related to their disability with techniques and information to respond to the needs of the participant.
Housing Services:
- Cushman House, Garvey House, Walden House – Homes for adults with mental illnesses, providing needed around-the-clock support to focus on recovery.
- The Dales – Apartment programs that provide the next step in mental health residential housing.
- Supported Housing – Provides a number of housing opportunities for people living with mental illness to live on their own.
Education & Training Services:
- Continuing Education for behavioral health professionals – Community-based psycho-educational training for behavioral health professionals and the community at large.
- Community Outreach and Education – Provide information and educational materials to increase the public awareness about mental health issues and community-based resources.