But what actually happens when someone calls?<\/p>\n
Inside the Crisis Center\u2019s call center, the environment is calm and controlled, an atmosphere designed to help counselors guide people through some of the most difficult moments of their lives.<\/p>\n
Every call the workers receive is different. Some people may simply need someone to listen, while others may be experiencing an immediate crisis.<\/p>\n
Lead Care Coordinator Ariana Diaz said counselors begin by talking with callers about how they are feeling and assessing their immediate safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll ask the caller how they\u2019re feeling,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cConfirm if they\u2019re having those thoughts of suicide, and what we\u2019ll do from there is we will assess their safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Crisis_Center.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Once counselors determine what a caller needs, they can help develop a safety plan and identify warning signs, coping strategies, and sources of support.<\/p>\n
The Crisis Center can also connect callers with longer-term mental health resources, including therapy, psychiatry, and support groups.<\/p>\n
For people who need additional assistance after their initial call, the Crisis Center offers suicide prevention care coordination. Callers can request follow-up contact, including weekly calls, to help them connect with resources and continue receiving support.<\/p>\n
Diaz said the goal is to make sure people know they don\u2019t have to wait until they\u2019re at their breaking point to ask for help.<\/p>\n
The Crisis Center has also worked to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health care and encourage people to seek support earlier.<\/p>\n
People who are struggling can call or text 988 at any time. The service is also available to people who are concerned about someone else.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and Tuesday, Sept. 8 is 988 Day, an effort…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393550,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[7083,571,7086,276,2635,7088,115,1338,596,1911,4135,135,137,136,9136],"class_list":["post-393549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-citrus-county","tag-health","tag-hernando-county","tag-hillsborough-county","tag-jason-lanning","tag-manatee-county","tag-news","tag-pasco-county","tag-pinellas-county","tag-polk-county","tag-sarasota-county","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-your-mental-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}