Articles Tagged: CommUnity Crisis Services and Food Bank

Nearly 50 people are set to be laid off from CommUnity Crisis Services in Iowa City later this month after federal funding was canceled for the LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention hotline, part of the national 988 suicide and crisis hotline.

Get to Know Gives Back talks to Emma Huntzinger with CommUnity Crisis Services about the services they provide and how to get involved.

Food pantries and food-based nonprofits are being overwhelmed with increasing need, and many have been unable to keep up. Community food providers are worried that without better collaborative efforts between pantries, and increased support from local government, food is going to become increasingly difficult to access in Linn County.

Healing Prairie Farm in Johnson County provides free services to youth experiencing mental health crisis in a home-like environment with access to animal therapy.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office at the end of October will end a contract with CommUnity Crisis Services, which since 2022 has provided a mental health liaison to the Sheriff’s Office, and two other Johnson County police departments.

Challenges persist for the agencies that answer the phone calls and text messages that come in through the 988 number, including high turnover among crisis counselors.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors is considering contributing just over $1 million to help renovate a farm purchased by CommUnity Crisis services to become a new youth crisis shelter.

Food banks and other food-based nonprofits are facing a crisis as inflation makes it harder to get food, and means more people are asking for food. At the same time, funding from Covid is disappearing and donations are decreasing.

The national suicide prevention crisis number was shortened to the three digit number 988 in July, resulting in an increase in call volumes across the United States. The two nonprofits that serve as answering centers for the line in Iowa have been keeping up with demand, despite high staff turnover.

See the replay video from Part 3 of our Business Spotlight Series. This installment is all about Growth for the Future.

Every dollar donated will enable the CommUnity Food Bank to purchase five pounds of food. Each year, this event raises enough funding to stock the shelves for nearly six months. Registration is online and ends today.

The Iowa City Council has directed nearly $1 million in pandemic relief funds to CommUnity Crisis Services so the nonprofit can expand its mobile crisis outreach program. The move comes in response to the increased need for mental health services during the pandemic.

CommUnity Crisis Services and Food Bank has added a youth mobile crisis counselor to the team to meet the growing needs in Johnson and Iowa counties.

The annual event will provide 1,500 local families with all the food they need to make a traditional holiday dinner. Families who missed the registration window can still get a meal.

Meet Joachim “Joah” Seelos, who joined CommUnity Crisis Services in late August as a law enforcement liaison responding to mental health calls.