PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The rising costs of living in Florida have put many of you in a tough spot financially. It's an issue WPTV has been helping you navigate as those fees continue to push your budget.
"Our electricity, our water, our food, everything is going up but your paycheck," said Reinaldo Cortes.
He and his wife, Susan, have lived in their 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home for the last 25 years.
Susan Cortes shares with WPTV how the cost of living is rising but not income
"It's just getting harder and harder to live you know," said Reinaldo.
Susan said she got into a car accident that forced her into retirement, and Reinaldo is in remission from cancer.
"How often are finances on your mind?" asked WPTV's Joel Lopez to Susan Cortes.
"All the time," Susan Cortes said.
Their main source of income is their Social Security.
"My husband was diagnosed with cancer and all the finances went to his treatment," said Susan Cortes. "It's very hard these days. It's very hard when you go grocery shopping and you waste $100 to get 3 or 4 bags of nothing."
It's a financial challenge that is impacting more than people's wallets as crisis centers prepare for a mental fallout.
"All of the data points to that we are in a mental health crisis," said Sharon L'Herrou.
She's the president of the 211 call center that serves Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast.
During a city commission meeting on Monday, 211 staff reported that last year they received 120,000+ calls for help. Seventy percent came from Palm Beach County, while 30% from the Treasure Coast.
It's a number L'Herrou said has been growing over the last 10 years.
Of the calls that came in, at least 20,000 were from people in the city of West Palm Beach— 4,500 of which were suicide prevention calls.
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Staff said the top needs of those people were housing insecurity, housing costs, overall financial distress. The 4,500 number of suicide prevention calls is a number that L'Herrou said are high.
Stress, mental health and addiction also contributed to suicide related calls.
That demand has caused the center to hire more staff but that they're outgrowing their current facility and have plans to expand it.
The plan is to demolish a portion of the current 211 facility turning it into a 2,000 square-foot, two-story facility. The new 211 center is expected to break ground in the next couple of months and hire and train people to answer the help lines.
L'Herrou said the new center will give more space for people answering the calls as well as space for staff to decompress.
"The calls are more and more challenging; a lot more mental health related calls that take longer and a lot more energy from our team," said L'Herrou. "We have to make sure our staff are healthy and well so we can help the people that need us."
On Monday, the city of West Palm Beach held a proclamation to make the week of Feb. 11-17, 211 Awareness Week.
It's the help center's 54th year and is said to have answered 2 million calls since 1971.
"For people who are struggling and don't know where to turn, our team at 211 is caring, available 24/7, you can pick up the phone you can text us and get a live person who cares about your situation who has all the information about services that are available, to talk to you and work you through that. We're here."
211 is the regional responder for the 988 Lifeline. Calls are free, confidential and available 24/7. Dial 2-1-1 or 9-8-8 for crisis support.
