Mental Health and Addiction
For immediate access to mental health or addiction services call the 24/7 Hotline at 1.800.NEXT.STEP (1.800.639.8783) or visit the Klein Family Harford Crisis Center at 802 Baltimore Pike, Bel Air, MD (near the Harford Mall) 9am to 9pm everyday for Walk-in services.
For immediate access to mental health or addiction services call the 24/7 Hotline at 1.800.NEXT.STEP (1.800.639.8783) or visit the Klein Family Harford Crisis Center at 802 Baltimore Pike, Bel Air, MD (near the Harford Mall) 9am to 9pm everyday for Walk-in services.No appointment necessary. Everyone is welcome regardless of insurance, income, or residency. Serving ages 5 and up.
Mental Health Resources Specifically for the Black Community
There are numerous mental health resources for the Black Community. Below is just a brief sampling. Please click on the Black Mental Health Matters icon to the left for additional resources.
In July of 2022, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline went live. 988 is the mental health version of 911, and is an easy to remember number and an incredibly fast way to get anyone who experiences a behavioral health crisis the help they need right away.
When someone in Maryland calls 988, the call is routed based on the caller’s area code, not their location. If your cell phone has an out-of-state area code, your call will be routed to the state in which the area code originates. For those calls routed to Maryland, the call is answered by one of eight strategically located call centers across the state. These centers provide phone, text and chat-based support and information regarding local resources free of charge.
The Lifeline provides phone services in English and Spanish and uses Language Line Solutions to provide translation services in over 150 additional languages for people who call 988. Veterans can access the Veterans Crisis Line by calling 988 and pressing 1.
According to the Data, Harford County ranks worse than the State average for:
- Poor mental health days
- Suicide rate
- Drug induced death rate
- Emergency department visits for addiction related conditions.
Source: Maryland Department of Health, SHIP data, and RWJF Community Health Rankings 2022
Some of the great things happening locally
Healthy Harford and the Local Health Improvement Coalition (LHIC) Behavioral Health Workgroup, representing agencies from all over the county, are working to improve mental health and addiction issues in our community. Here are some of the local programs and services aimed at making a difference:
- Klein Family Harford Crisis Center 1.800.NEXT.STEP, 802 Baltimore Pike, Bel Air, MD. Mental health and addictions services for anyone ages 5 and up regardless of insurance, income, or where they live. Even though Crisis Center is in the name, the clinic is really a resource to help prevent things from becoming a crisis. Think of it more as Urgent Care for mental health, where you can access care quickly without an appointment. It is always best to access services before things reach the point of being a crisis.
Services include:
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- 24/7Mental Health Hotline where you can speak to a mental health professional to ask questions or learn about resources, either for yourself or someone else.
- 24/7Mobile Crisis Team – mental health professionals that will go to a person in crisis if that person is unable to come to the Crisis Center.
- 24/7 Residential treatment – short term live in treatment
- Walk-in/Urgent Care services – 9am to 9pm – serving people ages 5 years and older with immediate care.
- Peer Recovery Specialists for substance use disorder/addiction – where you can talk to someone who has personal experience with substance use and recovered.
- Outpatient mental health services for ages 12 and up – outpatient care to link you to immediate short term care until you are able to find care mental health care in the community.
- Harford County Health Department (HCHD) – 410-877-2340. The HCHD offers Outpatient behavioral health treatment for mental health and Substance Use Disorder/Addiction. Services include:
- Screening
- Assessment
- Psychiatric
- Medication evaluation and management
- Case Management
- Family Education and Support
- Peer Support Services
- Individual Therapy/Counseling, Family Therapy/Counseling; and Group Therapy/Counseling
- Meagan’s Place 410-612-1777, 1321 Woodbridge Station Way, Edgewood, MD (entrance around back). A trusted, safe, non-judgmental physical place for at-risk pregnant, postpartum women and their families to meet. Meagan’s place provides information, guidance, referrals, services, care coordination, and support to help build healthy families.
- Harm Reduction Services – 410-612-1779. The Harford County Health Department provides harm reduction services such as Naloxone, peer recovery specialists, medication assisted therapy, PReP HIV prevention treatment and more, to help people struggling with substance use achieve better health outcomes. Contact them at for more information.
- Office of Drug Control Policy – Located within the Harford County Government Department of Community Services, the Office of Drug Control Policy provides community education and awareness regarding addiction and substance misuse. This department also has Peer Recovery Specialists to work with those who have substance use disorder and help them find their way to better health.
Other Services available in the community include:
- Mental Health First Aid – free classes offered every month to help residents better understand mental health issues. 8 hour class. Attendees earn Mental Health First Aid Certification. See our Healthy Harford calendar for dates and locations.
- Question, Persuade, Refer – free classes to help people learn how to speak to someone that might be at risk for suicide. 1.5 hr. class. See our Calendar of events for class locations and times. Contact Paula Nash LCSW-C at the Harford County Health Department paula.nash@maryland.gov to schedule a class for your group.
- Depression Screening for School Age Children – Outreach effort to encourage Pediatricians to screen for depression during annual school physicals
- You Are Not Alone, Suicide Prevention Signs – Suicide prevention signs are posted at key areas in the community to help spread the message that You Are Not Alone, along with resources for accessing mental health assistance. Bel Air Parking garage host such signs as well as an emergency phone.
- Friends R Family – local nonprofit working to address suicide and other mental health issues. Friends R Family has established a Suicide Prevention Club at Patterson Mill High School.
- Depression screenings at hospitals – At-risk patients are screened for depression and substance abuse at the University of Maryland Harford Memorial and Upper Chesapeake Medical Center.
- Rapid Referrals for Pregnant Women with Addiction Issues – Through the work of the Behavioral Health Work Group subcommittee focusing on pregnant women and substance exposed newborns (SEN), a rapid referral process between Obstetric doctors and substance abuse providers has been established to link pregnant women with addiction issues with treatment.
- Integrate Mental Health services into Primary Care – The University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health and local practices are working to integrate mental health into standard primary care practices.
- Assist Addiction Recovery for Inmates – The Harford County Health Department has a Vivitrol program in the Detention Center to help addicts address their addiction before they are released.
- Decrease Opioid Deaths – The Harford County Health Department and Harford County Office of Drug Control Policy offer free on-line Nalaxone training for residents to help reduce deaths from opioid overdoses.
- Crisis Intervention Training for Law Enforcement – The Harford County Sheriff’s Office has Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training to help deputies deal with situations involving mental illness.
Click here for Addiction Resources
