Counselling, grief support and groups for isolation and depression.
In a crisis
Community Healthlink
866-549-2142
Worcester's crisis service, part of UMass Memorial. A team will come out to you at any hour, day or night, and there is a walk-in clinic as well as ordinary counselling for adults.
Crisis clinic: 12 Queen St., Worcester
The crisis team answers at any hour. The walk-in clinic: Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Their website
That number reaches the team that comes to you. Their general line is 508-860-1000, answered at any hour; for regular counselling and medicines, 508-860-1260.
Massachusetts Behavioural Health Help Line
833-773-2445
A state line for anyone worried about their own state of mind or somebody else's, including drink and drugs. They find you care, and quickly if it is urgent.
At any hour, every day of the year.
Their website
Free, and you need no insurance. You can text it as well as ring. Interpreters in more than 200 languages.
Veterans Crisis Line
988
Free, confidential help at any hour for veterans in crisis and for families worried about a veteran. You do not have to be enrolled in VA health care to use it.
24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Their website
Dial 988 and then press 1 to reach the veterans' line. You can also text 838255 or chat online.
Call2Talk
508-532-2255
A 24-hour listening line run by Mass 211 for anyone who is lonely, low, anxious or thinking about suicide, or worried about someone who is. Trained volunteers and staff listen and help you through a hard moment.
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Their website
The number is also written 508-532-CALL. Free and confidential. Mass 211 itself is listed under Emergency.
Counselling and treatment
Spectrum Health Systems
508-854-3320
An outpatient clinic on Lincoln Street for people with a drink or drug problem: counselling, and medicine to help.
585 Lincoln St., Worcester, MA 01605
Monday–Friday, 5:30 a.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 5:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
Their website
New patients can also ring their intake line, 877-697-3422. Medicine is dispensed on different hours from the clinic's - check before you go.
Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline
800-327-5050
A state line that finds you treatment for drink, drugs or gambling anywhere in Massachusetts, Worcester included.
At any hour, every day.
Their website
Free and confidential. You can text HOPE to the same number.
Worcester Vet Center
508-753-7902
Free, confidential counselling for veterans, service members and their families in a non-medical setting, including help with wartime trauma, grief and family problems. Part of the VA.
255 Park Avenue, Suite 900, Worcester, MA 01609
Monday to Friday, 8am to 4:30pm.
Their website
You do not need to be enrolled in VA health care. There are also satellite sites in Framingham and Leominster; ring the main number for their hours.
Seven Hills Behavioral Health
855-496-8462
A Worcester-based non-profit offering counselling and psychiatric care for adults, children and families, in the clinic, at home or in the community.
Their website
The number is the referrals line; you can also email bhreferrals@sevenhills.org. Ask whether they take your insurance and how long the wait is.
Department of Mental Health — Central Massachusetts Area Office
774-420-3140
The state office that decides who is eligible for Department of Mental Health services, such as long-term community support for adults with serious mental illness, in Worcester and Central Massachusetts.
361 Plantation Street, 1st Floor, Worcester, MA 01605
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Their website
This is not a crisis line. TTY: 774-420-3155. Parking is in the front lot, reached from Research Drive.
AdCare Hospital
A hospital in Worcester that treats alcohol and drug problems, including detox and inpatient care.
107 Lincoln Street, Worcester, MA 01605
Their website
No phone number is given here: the main number on AdCare's contact page changed when the page was reloaded, and it was an out-of-state (325) number. Use their website, or ring the Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline (already listed), which can check for open beds.
Hospital for Behavioral Medicine
1-844-319-0000
A 120-bed psychiatric hospital in Worcester with services for adults and a programme for older adults. It gives free screenings at any hour, by telephone, to work out what level of care someone needs.
100 Century Drive, Worcester, MA 01606
Screening calls answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Their website
This is a hospital, mainly for people who need more help than weekly counselling. In an emergency ring 911 or 988. Ask which insurance they take when you ring.
Company, grief and support
NAMI Central Mass
508-368-3562
The Worcester branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Free groups, run by people who have been through it, for those living with a mental illness and for their families.
309 Belmont St., Worcester, MA 01604
Their website
Ring or text. The groups are led by peers and are not a crisis service.
Bereavement group at the Jewish Healthcare Center
508-713-0512
A grief group for anyone who has lost someone, run by the hospice social worker. Open to all, not only to families they have cared for.
646 Salisbury St., Worcester, MA 01609
Ring Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m., to put your name down.
Their website
Not a drop-in: ring first for the next meeting.
Alcoholics Anonymous — Worcester Area Intergroup
508-752-9000
The local AA office. It keeps the list of meetings in and around Worcester, and answers a line where you can talk to somebody who has stopped drinking.
At any hour.
Their website
Meetings are free, in person and on Zoom.
Genesis Club
508-831-0100
A clubhouse in Worcester for adults living with mental illness. Members help run it together, and it supports them back into work, housing and education.
274 Lincoln St., Worcester, MA 01605
Their website
Ring to ask about becoming a member and to arrange a first visit.
Kiva Centers — Worcester
508-751-9600
A drop-in centre run by people who have been through mental health difficulties themselves, with free peer support groups and company. Groups include 'Living with Loss' for anyone grieving.
172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604
Monday to Thursday, 10am to 4pm. Friday, 11am to 5pm.
Their website
Free. The weekly group timetable is on the page. It used to be called the Central Massachusetts Recovery Learning Community.
VNA Care — Worcester bereavement support group
800-521-5539
A free drop-in grief support group open to anyone who has lost a loved one, friend or colleague, not only families of VNA Care patients. Listed here as well as under In-Home Care and Home Repairs because this entry is for the grief group.
VNA Care office, 67 Millbrook St., 500 North, Worcester
Third Tuesday of each month, 7pm to 9pm.
Their website
No need to register for the Worcester group; just turn up. You can also email Bereavement@VNACare.org. The number is VNA Care's main line.
Alzheimer's Association — caregiver support groups
800-272-3900
Free support groups for unpaid family members and friends caring for someone with Alzheimer's or another dementia. They meet in person, by video or by phone, led by trained facilitators.
Their website
Ring the 24-hour helpline to find a group near Worcester and register. The helpline is also listed under Professional Health Care; this entry is for the support groups.
Al-Anon Family Groups of Massachusetts
508-366-0556
Free support groups for family members and friends of someone with a drinking problem. The state office can tell you about meetings in and near Worcester.
57 East Main Street, Suite 109, Westborough, MA 01581-1457
Office: Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm.
Their website
Learn to Cope
508-738-5148
A Massachusetts non-profit that supports families of people with drug or alcohol addiction, through peer-led meetings, an online forum and education.
Their website
The main office is in Taunton. Ask about the nearest meeting to Worcester or the online forum; no Worcester meeting was listed on their site.