Those experiencing a mental health crisis in the Gary area now have a streamlined way to get help. Edgewater Health cut the ribbon Monday on its new crisis relief hub. It includes 24/7 mobile crisis response teams with certified peer support specialists and clinicians. They can respond along with — or instead of — police, when someone experiences a mental health crisis.
Lake County prosecutor and Edgewater Health board member Bernard Carter hopes it will prevent situations where people regret calling police to respond to a loved one's mental health crisis. "No one should feel that way, in terms of, 'I can't call the police because my child might die,'" Carter said. "So this is a kind of an answer to that or an assistance to that. It really is."
Still, Carter doesn't expect the mobile crisis response teams to replace the need for police entirely at mental health calls, especially if weapons or violence are involved.
The crisis relief hub also includes Edgewater's rapid access center. Edgewater President and CEO Dr. Danita Johnson Woods said patients can get a medical evaluation, withdrawal management and access to further treatment, if necessary.
"Our goal is to quickly stabilize people, get them the appropriate supports that they need and get them back out in the community and functioning that the most optimal level possible," she explained.
The hub also includes the local response to the 988 crisis hotline, for calls from Gary and Calumet Township.
The services are funded, in part, by grants from the Indiana Family & Social Services Administration's Division of Mental Health and Addiction. That includes nearly $5.9 million for crisis receiving and stabilization and nearly $1.3 million for mobile crisis response teams.
U.S. Representative Frank Mrvan (D-Highland) said the hub represents hope and compassion for those struggling with what is often an isolating experience. He pointed to his own family member's struggles with substance use disorder.
"And as a family, we felt that we didn't know where to turn," Mrvan recalled. "And we watched this play out in front of us of hopelessness in someone who is addicted to opiates, and they isolated themselves. We didn't know how to help them and they're no longer with us and they left three children behind."
For Gary Mayor Eddie Melton, Monday's ribbon cutting was a full-circle moment. He noted that his first job out of college was at Edgewater Health, something that he says opened his eyes to the community's vulnerabilities.
"Knowing that we are all just one blink away from a crisis. We're just one heartbeat away from recalling trauma in our lives that may trigger other incidents," Melton said.
