“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have” – Margaret Mead
This page is a reprint from the Sonoma County website
Local Resources
- If this is an emergency, call 9-8-8.
- If you have an urgent need now to talk with someone for counseling or mental health support call:
- Sonoma County 24-Hour Crisis Stabilization Unit: (707) 576-8181
- North Bay Suicide Prevention Hotline of Sonoma County: 1 (855) 587-6373
- County of Sonoma Warm Line
- Call (707) 565-2652 for free and private support if you or someone you know is experiencing emotional stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. This warm line is available seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Service in Spanish is also available as well as telephone interpretation for other languages.
- If you receive Medi-Cal or are uninsured, community health centers throughout Sonoma County are providing virtual counseling visits through phone and online video calls.
- http://www.partnershiphp.org/Community/Documents/Sonoma/Sonoma_MentalHealth.pdf
- Find a community health center near you: https://www.rchc.net/health-centers/
- Public Assistance phone numbers from Redwood Community Health Coalition
- Friendship Line: 1 (800) 971-0016
- Institute on Aging’s 24-hour toll-free Friendship Line for people aged 60 years and older, and adults living with disabilities: 1 (855) 639-7965
- Alcoholics Anonymous: English 1 (415) 674-1821 or Spanish 1 (415) 824-1834
- SOS Community Counseling: Intake line (707) 284-3444
- Buckelew Family Services: Remote services remotely and assistance by phone, email, and video conference calls. (707) 583-5284 or (707) 237-1334
- Peer Services:
- Wellness and Advocacy Center: (707) 565-7800
Tuesday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - Interlink Self Help Warm line: (707) 546-4481
Monday through Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. - Petaluma Peer Recovery Project warm line: (707) 565-1299
Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. - Russian River Empowerment Center warm line: (707) 823-1640 ext 207, then press 0
Monday through Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Wellness and Advocacy Center: (707) 565-7800
- Legal Aid of Sonoma County
- Hotline: (707) 542-1290, info@legalaidsc.com
- Elder Hotline: (707) 340-5610, legalaidsc.org
- Domestic Violence Hotline: (707) 595-6295
- Housing Hotline: (707) 843-4432, Rental housing and eviction issues.
- Veteran’s Issues: (707) 542-1291
Other Resources
- Contact the National Disaster Distress Helpline (English and Spanish)
- Toll-Free: 1 (800) 985-5990
- Text “TalkWithUs” to 66746; español: “Hablanos” al 66746
- TTY (for hard of hearing): 1 (800) 846-8517
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1 (800) 273-8255
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
- NAMI Sonoma County Support Line: 1 (866) 960-6264 (Monday-Friday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm PST)
- For mental health resources, NAMI Hotline: 1 (800) 950-6264 (Monday-Friday, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm EST)
- Mental Health Association of San Francisco: 1 (855) 845-7415, (California peer-run warm line, 24/7)
- 24-hour Domestic Violence Hotline: 1 (808) 799-7233 or click Chat Now
Coping with stress and anxiety
- Talk with people you trust. Contact your friends and family through social media, FaceTime, phone calls, or email. Social distancing does not mean emotional distancing!
- While staying at home, maintain a healthy lifestyle as much as possible – including proper diet, sleep, and exercise. Create a routine and do your best to stick to it.
- Use YouTube workouts or FaceTime/Skype/Zoom to create your own group workouts.
- If you have the space, turn your living space into your workout area. If you have stairs, make a few extra trips up and down each day. If you’re working from home: lift weights, do squats and lunges, and stretch while sending emails and completing your other daily tasks.
- If you don’t have space at home, take daily walks while keeping a safe distance from others who may be out walking.
- Spend time outside each day. Stay healthy by breathing fresh air and going for a walk. The current health order allows for limited use of nearby parks for walking, running, jogging and hiking. More information about park access »
- Don’t use smoking, alcohol, or other drugs to deal with your emotions.
- If you feel overwhelmed, talk to a health worker or counselor. Have a plan. Know where to go to and how to seek help for physical and mental health needs if required.
- Get the facts. Gather information that will help you accurately determine your risk so that you can take reasonable precautions. Find a credible source you can trust such as WHO website or, a local or state public health agency.
- Limit worry and agitation by lessening the time you and your family spend watching or listening to media coverage that you perceive as upsetting.
- Draw on skills you have used in the past that have helped you to manage previous life’s adversities and use those skills to help you manage your emotions during the challenging time of this outbreak.
Resources for coping with Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Manage Anxiety & Stress, Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
- Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak, World Health Organization (WHO)
- COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Information and Resources, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
- Coping with a Disaster or Traumatic Event, (CDC)
Helping children cope with stress and anxiety
Children may respond to stress in different ways such as being more clingy, anxious, withdrawing, angry or agitated, bedwetting etc.
- Respond to your child’s reactions in a supportive way, listen to their concerns and give them extra love and attention.
- Children need adults’ love and attention during difficult times. Give them extra time and attention.
- Remember to listen to your children, speak kindly, and reassure them.
- If possible, make opportunities for the child to play and relax.
- Try and keep children close to their parents and family and avoid separating children and their caregivers to the extent possible. If separation occurs (e.g. hospitalization) ensure regular contact (e.g. via phone) and reassurance.
- Keep to regular routines and schedules as much as possible, or help create new ones in a new environment, including school/learning as well as time for safely playing and relaxing.
- Answer the questions they ask, and let this guide how much information you share.
- Provide facts about what has happened, explain what is going on now, and give them clear information about how to reduce their risk of being infected by the disease in words that they can understand depending on their age.
- This also includes providing information about what could happen in a reassuring way (for example, explain that a family member and/or the child may start not feeling well and may have to go to the hospital for some time so doctors can help them feel better)
Resources for families, parents and children
- Coronavirus Updates: Mental health guidance, public health news and resources, NAMI California
- Helping Children Cope with Emergencies, CDC
- Just for Kids: A Comic exploring the new Coronavirus, National Public Radio (NPR)
- How to Talk to Your Anxious Child or Teen about Coronavirus, Anxiety and Depression Association of America
Resources for mental and behavioral health organizations
- coronavirus.gov, CDC, FEMA, White House
- Coronavirus, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Resources and Tools for Addressing Coronavirus, National Council for Behavioral Health
- Coronavirus Resources and Information, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Addiction and Recovery Resources
Online Recovery Meetings
- Alcoholics Anonymous (for alcoholics)
- Narcotics Anonymous (for addicts)
- Al-Anon (for loved ones affected by another’s addiction)
- Life Ring (non-religious based recovery)
- Refuge Recovery (Buddhist inspired path to recovery)