National Mental Health Awareness Month

Today: Porter County Sheriff David Reynolds is on "Regionally Speaking" to discuss the topic of mental health as this National Mental Health Awareness Month comes to an end. He says mental health is one of the key issues at the County Jail, along with addiction. The topic came up at a recent law enforcement memorial program in Valparaiso. The Porter County Commissioners recently hired an outside consultant to conduct a community assessment on suicide awareness and prevention. We revisit our conversation with a former Illinois police officer who almost took his own life because of the stresses of his job and a misdiagnosis during an initial mental health treatment.

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.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month but unfortunately mental health isn’t talked about much in the African American community. Is stigma keeping African Americans from seeking mental health treatment?

Today: Ed Feigenbaum, the creator of "Indiana Gaming Insight" and several other newsletters published by Hannah News Service is on "Regionally Speaking" to bring the latest on court cases involving executives or others connected with the state's gaming industry, along with recent casino and sports wagering revenue figures and the impact of the newest casino — Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana in Gary — on the gaming business. May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, and we have an overview of the month from NAMI Indiana executive Barbara Thompson. She is the first in a series of conversations which you'll hear on Mondays throughout the month.