Librarian Judith Bergeron answers the phone in her office at the Smithville Public Library in Smithville, Texas, on March 11, 2024.SMITHVILLE – When the COVID-19 pandemic first shut down the Smithville Public Library, it was as if a vital community artery had been severed.
The book clubs were such a hit in conservative Bastrop County, some of the participants joined the library’s general monthly book club, and the LGBTQ+ book club still meets monthly. The pilot program is designed to allow mental health programs to flow seamlessly into the library’s community service model. The peer specialist training program provided the initial training for certification using a federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Texas is a state where 98 percent of its 254 counties are designated as Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas, areas where there’s only 1 clinician for 30,000 residents, and the state’s behavioral health worker shortage is The Smithville library director has witnessed this firsthand as she had a woman come in last year to explain her movie return was late because her best friend killed himself in front of her.
“To be honest, I had never stepped foot into a library before this job because, to me, it was always just a place for books,” she said. She had turned to the library as a place to rest. She said that’s where she met Flores, who has helped her acquire the resources she needed to find a place to stay, helped her with employment, and motivated her to continue going through life despite the challenges she might face.
When Smithville resident Donella McLean saw Flores working with people in the library, she became curious about her role. “I think I always wanted to be a peer support specialist. But I never had the means to do it until now,” McLean said. “I know that you can survive . I feel that I’m a success story in many ways, and because of that, I feel called to share that with others.”For years, Bergeron has kept a heart-shaped locket on her keys to remind herself to take care of her mental health.