How you can help underserved communities get access to mental health resources

YEAR, THEY HAD A RECORD OF 13 AND 21. ALL RIGHT. MAKING SURE EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES. THAT’S THE GOAL FOR THE CHEAT-CODE FOUNDATION AS THEY TRY TO HELP SACRAMENTO’S MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES. AND NOW IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO HELP. JOINING US NOW IS DOCTOR ARMANDO FOUNDER OF THE CHEAT-CODE GONZALES, THE FOUNDATION. HANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. MIKE: WHY IS THIS SOMETHING YOU FELT THE SACRAMENTO COMMUNITY WAS IN NEED OF. >> I THINK IT WAS A SNAPSHOT FOR EVERYWHERE USA. WE ALL NEED THIS IN EVERYWHERE ACROSS THE COUNTRY. A STUDY CAME OUT THAT ALL THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS STUDY, 90% RATED WE ARE IN A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS. IN SACRAMENTO WE HAVE A DIVERSE POPULATION AND WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT DIVERSE POPULATIONS WITH THERAPY IS MANY FOLKS LIVING IN LOW INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS TEND TO NEVER HAVE A POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH EXPERIENCE SO WE FIND WAYS TO ENGAGE THEM AND GET THEM EXCITED ABOUT GOING TO THERAPY, TO RECEIVING OPPORTUNITIES TO HEAL AND LEVEL UP. MIKE: WHEAT THROUGHOUT THE TERM MENTAL HEALTH DESERT CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THAT IS? >> WE BORROW THAT TERM FOR WHAT WE TALK ABOUT AROUND INEQUALITY TO HEALTHY FOOD OPTIONS. SO FOOD DESERTS. MENTAL HEALTH DESERTS ARE PLACES WHERE IT’S EXTREMELY HARD TO GET ACCESS WHEN YOU ARE HAVING A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS. MANY NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING HERE IN SACRAMENTO, SOME OF OUR POOR NEIGHBORHOODS IF YOU WAKE UP AND YOU FIND OUT THAT YOU ARE SUICIDAL OR ANXIOUS OR DEPRESSED THE LIKELIHOOD OF YOU BEING ABLE TO REACH OUT AND GET HELP, THAT SAME DAY OR WEEK THAT SAME MONTH, IT’S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE BECAUSE THERE ISN’T ENOUGH MENTAL HEALTH OPTIONS AROUND YOU OR FOLKS SIMPLY AREN’T AWARE OF HOW TO EVEN GO ABOUT NAVIGATING WITH THE COMPLICATED SYSTEM. MIKE: TELL US MORE ABOUT THE FUNDRAISING GOAL FOR CHEAT CODE FOUNDATION. >> WE STARTED A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION. IT IS A CHURCH CALLED MIDTOWN CHURCH AND IT WAS TO PRESENT THERAPY IN A WAY TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY AND GET THEM EXCITED ABOUT GOING TO THERAPY. WE WERE SUCCESSFUL IN DOING THAT. WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE 75 PEOPLE THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE. THEY RECEIVED 12 SESSIONS, SOME OF THE BEST BRAIN-BASED TRAUMA INFORMED THERAPY OUT THERE AND THEY RECEIVED DIFFERENT PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE THEM THEY HAD GREAT EXPERIENCES. SO NOW WE HAVE A WAITING LIST OF OVER 250 PEOPLE THAT ARE WAITING TO RECEIVE THEIR OPPORTUNITY. IF ANYONE HAS HAD A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE WHERE THEY FOUNDED TO BE HELPFUL, HEALING, THEY FOUNDED TO HELP THEM TAKE THE NEXT STEP IN LIVING OUT THE PURPOSE AND CALLING THAT WE CAN ALL DO OUR PART AND TRY TO DONATE SOME MONEY TOWARDS THIS CAUSE SO THAT OTHER PEOPLE CAN HAVE THE SAME EXPERIENCE BECAUSE THEY ARE READY TO GO NOW TOO. MIKE: WE HAVE ABOUT 10 SECONDS, AND FOLKS ARE INTERESTED IN HELPING HOW HAD — CAN THEY? >> THEY SHOULD GO TO THE CHEAT CODE CHP ATC ODT.ORG AND THEY CAN — CHEAT COD

How you can help underserved communities get access to mental health resources

Updated: 1:59 PM PST Dec 27, 2022

Making sure everyone has access to mental health resources — that’s the goal for the Cheatcode Foundation as they try to help Sacramento’s most vulnerable communities.Dr. Armando Gonzalez, founder of the Cheatcode Foundation, sat down with KCRA 3 on Tuesday to speak more about how you can help.See what he had to say in the video above.

Making sure everyone has access to mental health resources — that’s the goal for the Cheatcode Foundation as they try to help Sacramento’s most vulnerable communities.

Dr. Armando Gonzalez, founder of the Cheatcode Foundation, sat down with KCRA 3 on Tuesday to speak more about how you can help.

See what he had to say in the video above.