Mental Health Awareness
May 4, 2022
It is important to prioritize your mental health along with your physical health. May is National Mental Health Awareness Month.
Mental health is a hot topic which is good because it means the stigma for mental health issues is slowly going away.
SEPTA’s core mission is to ensure that we can provide safe and secure service for our riders and the communities we serve. As part of that, we have a responsibility to help address the challenges of individuals experiencing the daily crisis of mental health issues - including those who ride and seek refuge in our stations and vehicles. These are complex, societal issues – and require skills and expertise that you do not typically find within a public transportation agency.
As a whole, we often misunderstand mental health because it is hard to define - it can involve one’s social, emotional, and psychological well-being. Mental health affects thoughts, feelings, and actions. That is why partnerships - like this one with Cabrini and others, are so important. These partnerships support the creation of a safe environment for our employees and customers and are a key element in maintaining a healthy and vibrant community.
If you encounter someone in distress when riding SEPTA - please consider these tools/resources/actions:
See something. Say something. Download SEPTA’s Transit Watch App—available for iPhone and Android—to recommend health services for an individual in need of care. The SEPTA Transit Watch App has incident-reporting features that allow SEPTA riders to discreetly share information with SEPTA Transit Police in less than 20 seconds. And it's FREE to download. Watch this video!
Text a tip. Help a person in crisis on the system be connected to SEPTA’s outreach services by calling 215-234-1911.
Keep it here for more helpful tips from SEPTA Medical Director Dr. E [aka Dr. Jeffrey Erinoff]!!
