Nonprofit nearly out of money for Pulse counseling

A major provider of free mental-health counseling to those traumatized by the Pulse nightclub attack says it will run out of money for treatment at the end of summer — if not earlier.

Leaders of the nonprofit Mental Health Association of Central Florida, which began offering the free program within 48 hours of the shootings, said the funds raised in the beginning are nearly gone, and they’re worried the June 12 anniversary of the tragedy will trigger an increase in the number of people needing help.

“Even as little as two weeks ago we had a … survivor who had not been to treatment before,” said Candy Crawford, the association’s CEO. “There has been a lot of discussion of other funding, but we haven’t seen any of that so far, and we absolutely don’t want to close this program.”

The organization has helped nearly 100 people to date, with 52 of them currently in ongoing counseling.

“They are helping me get my life back,” said Francisco Pabon, 23, who was at Pulse during the attack and lost seven friends that night. Though able to escape physically unharmed, he was barely able to function from the lingering impact of the trauma.

“I’m not 100 percent the same person that I was,” he said. “But I feel happy [again], like I’m a survivor. I’m able to … tell my story.”

Pabon — like many who suffer post-traumatic stress — didn’t get help immediately. It took until late October, after his employer encouraged him to seek counseling.

While there are other organizations that provide free counseling — notably The GLBT Center of Central Florida and Two Spirit Health Services — Crawford and others say the Mental Health Association’s work is critical. But because of the no-questions-asked manner in which the program operates, it has been ineligible for grants that have gone to other agencies, such as the Orlando United Assistance Center.

At the assistance center — a service hub set up to coordinate help for Pulse victims and their families — workers verify those seeking help were either in the club at the time of the shootings or had loved ones who were killed there.

“The money right now is focused first on [direct] victims of the Pulse tragedy,” said Mark Brewer, president and CEO of the Central Florida Foundation, which oversees the Better Together Fund set up in the wake of the tragedy. “The Mental Health Association, I think, is doing a wonderful job, [but] they’re not restricted by any lines or jurisdictions. So what we’re trying to do is figure out is: How can we help them? When’s the right time to help them?”

Better Together has given the Heart of Florida United Way, which manages the assistance center, $50,000 to help Pulse survivors and their families with rent, utilities “and/or mental health care” and up to another $50,000 for mental health counseling, but only that provided by Two Spirit and Hispanic Family Counseling.

It gave the Mental Health Association just $1,500 to organize weekly support groups. The only other money the association received was $50,000 from actress Glenn Close, who spoke at the agency’s annual fundraising gala last summer, and $50,000 from the Humana Foundation.

Three quarters of that money has been spent — paying 40 counselors under contract with the Mental Health Association and a full time coordinator of the triage program that connects people to the best counselor for their needs.

“I purposely didn’t want any barriers,” Crawford said. “I don’t need to know your name. I don’t care if you’ve got insurance. If you came to us and said, ‘I think I need help,’ that’s all we need to know.”

Crawford said that approach is particularly critical when it comes to treating police officers, firefighters and other first responders who may not want employers to know about their mental health needs.

“Unfortunately, that’s a huge stigma — still,” she said. “I wanted somewhere that people could come and they wouldn’t have to deal with that.”

At The GLBT Center of Central Florida, Executive Director Terry DeCarlo said the counseling operates the same way.

“They come in here and it’s free,” he said. “If a counselor finds that they need to go on and need longer term help [or more intense intervention], then the counselor will make that referral.”

DeCarlo has counselors on staff who are continuing to see clients impacted by Pulse. His organization, too, runs largely on grant money, and like Crawford, he’ll be looking soon for additional sources.

“The Mental Health Association is an incredible agency, and they do so much in Orlando to help the community,” he said.