You were supposed to be happy for the holidays, with friends and family celebrating the new year after the Christmas cheer, right?
But for a tragically great number of depressed Southern Californians, the holidays can be an unstoppable misery.
But there is help available, and you’re not alone.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, working with the L.A. County Department of Mental Health, is alerting residents to resources available to them if they should feel depressed during this holiday season.
For life-threatening emergencies, residents should call 911, authorities said.
Suicide prevention and survivor hotlines are operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week for residents in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial counties.
Those hotlines are (877) 727-4747 for English and (888) 628-9454 for Spanish.
Other hotlines include a Substance Abuse Hotline at (800) 564-6600; Veterans Services at (877) 452-8387; National Alliance on Mental Illness at (800) 950-6264 and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center at (323) 993-7400.
—City News Service