A young Calgary woman says making the right phone call helped her to fight crippling mental illness and to turn her life around.
Dheny Rivas stopped abusing street and prescription drugs five years ago, but then found herself battling anxiety and phobias.
She called Access Mental Health, a help line run by the province which is staffed with nurses, social workers and psychologists.
“When you don’t leave your house for seven months, that’s a problem,” Rivas says. “I was scared for my life. I definitely understood where this was going, where this was heading.”
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After connecting with free therapy, Rivas is now a successful student in the social work program at Mount Royal University
”Right now I’m in the best place I’ve been in my entire life,” says Rivas. “I feel really fortunate.“
Alberta Health Services is urging people in mental distress to call for advice and referrals, and not to wait too long.
“Access Mental Health plays a pivotal role in getting people connected earlier in their stage of their crisis or the stage of need,” says Debbie Malloy, the program’s manager.
“It directs people to the most appropriate service from the get-go,” Malloy adds. “So we don’t have people sitting on multiple wait lists and telling their story 50 times.”
Access Mental Health operates weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be reached by calling 403-943-1500.
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