mobile mental health teams in Gary

Those experiencing a mental health crisis in the Gary area now have a streamlined way to get help.

Gary's proposed mobile mental health initiative has taken a major step forward. The city council voted unanimously Tuesday to appropriate $1.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan money for the initiative, drawing cheers from those in attendance.

Plans are moving ahead to bring a mobile mental health response initiative to Gary. Under the proposal, a clinician would be available to respond to mental health crises 24 hours a day, without necessarily involving police.

Today: The Interfaith Action Network, a group of northwest Indiana churches, held a community meeting on Sunday in Gary’s Miller neighborhood to tell citizens more about what are called “mobile mental health teams, “ which can supplement the work of police officers, by either answering non-violent calls independently or working alongside them, to access and de-escalate situations. Mary Stewart-Pelligrini is one of the members of the steering committee which set up the meeting. She is on "Regionally Speaking" to speak about the issue and how the Network hopes that a pilot project will be created soon, using funds from the American Rescue Plan and the City of Gary. We also have another Mental Health Awareness Month conversation, this week with Chandra Lyle of Community Healthcare System. And we talk to St. Joseph's College Chancellor Dr. Chad Pulver about how the Rensselaer college is recovering from past problems and restoring itself to a model Catholic liberal arts institution for the 21st Century.