Document Type
Portfolio
Publication Date
2025
Abstract
Goal Statement: My prevention-focused goal statement for Accessible Mental Health Chicago is to create a program that focuses on providing mental health resources for all in all areas of Chicago. This is by having community based low-cost or no-cost mental health services throughout the city, in the local languages that are of that community.
Significant Findings: While there are some limited resources in the areas with the highest calls for mental health crisis, they are not accessible for most of the city. While there are mental health centers throughout the city there aren’t many low or no cost resources. This means that people are having to wait until they are in crisis to receive the necessary treatment. This also means that barriers such as transportation, finance, and stigma can make it impossible for individuals to maintain mental health even after treatment. While currently only 7 of the 77 communities in Chicago have CARES programs in their access the goal is to with a program like Accessible Mental Health Chicago access can be created for all (Compass, 2025).
Objectives/Strategies/Interventions/Next Steps: The next steps would be to look at the neighborhoods that fall outside of the community range for the current low or no cost centers and focus on expanding by adding to the next larges volume of calls. Once those locations are determined based on public transportation access and necessity, the next step would be to work with local cost based mental health centers as well as school counselors and other community resources to see what the needs of the community are. This would include language needs, cultural needs, and other community-based needs. The third step would be to contact other established resources to work with them on needs-based referrals, for example Community Counseling Centers of Chicago (C4) or Center on Halsted. For these clients who might normally drop out early in treatment due to financial or transportation barriers, they could have some of these barriers removed. The fourth step would be to gain feedback from stakeholders and community about the center’s successes and areas for improvement. The fifth step would be to ensure that the community is aware of the resources available. This would be through media, including social media, as well as within school programs.
