When I think about Chicago’s mental health crisis, I think of my brother, Leon. He was a loving husband, father, and incredible musician, but he struggled violently with mental illness for much of his life. Sadly, he died addicted to drugs and with no place to live.
I also think about my daughter, Bradyn, and specifically remember a conversation I had with her when she was 7 years old. We were trying to navigate life during the COVID-19 pandemic. I was trying to explain something to her, and I thought I was explaining it clearly, and all of a sudden she said, “You know what? “You’re turning me on, Daddy.”
I was surprised at first – I’d never thought I’d talk to my parents like that – but as I reflected on that exchange, I realized how important it was that our daughter was able to put into words what she was feeling in that moment.
I believe that if my brother had the words to express his needs and the mental health care he needed, his life on earth would have been much longer. Leon and Bradyn are what make this work so personal to me.
That’s why a year ago I made it a priority to assemble a working group of city officials, community organizers, and mental health care advocates to develop a roadmap for expanding mental health care services in Chicago. I asked them to present a bold vision for transforming Chicago’s mental health care infrastructure, while keeping in mind the budgetary and operational constraints of a current system that has been degraded by more than 30 years of cuts, privatization, and neglect.
Like so many other issues plaguing our city, these decades of neglect have been felt most acutely by our most disenfranchised communities. More than 65% of Black and Brown Chicagoans with serious mental distress currently do not receive treatment in the city. It’s estimated that the total number of Chicagoans with serious mental distress has skyrocketed to more than 239,000 in recent years. This is a crisis.
June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, recognizing that this crisis has hit men especially hard. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states: Men account for approximately 80% of deaths by suicide. And evidence shows that men are more likely to fall victim to drug abuse and alcoholism.
Every day Chicagoans see their neighbors in need in their communities, on public transportation and across the city without a clear, accessible way to get the care they need.
The crisis is particularly acute among young people with serious mental illnesses. investigation A survey of 1,400 clinicians about the youth mental health crisis found that cost and insurance were the biggest barriers to care. Providing free mental health care through community-run clinics would help provide care to young people who need it.
The need for this kind of generational change in our mental health infrastructure is long overdue. In 1987, under Mayor Harold Washington, Chicago had 19 city-run mental health centers and one Chicago Alcohol Treatment Center. Today, Chicago has five. Chicago is a world-class city. Chicagoans deserve a world-class mental health system.
With that vision in mind, I am proud that my Administration has taken the first steps toward rebuilding the City’s public mental health care infrastructure. Reopening a closed mental health care clinic in Roseland. By starting with the Far South Side, we are making it clear to Chicagoans that we are prioritizing those left behind and abandoned by the previous administration.
Given the urgency of this crisis, we are taking immediate steps to expand access to mental health care in other parts of our city. We will add mental health services to our city-run clinic in Pilsen and add services to the Legler Regional Library in West Garfield Park. Mental Health Services Expansion Working Group It will serve as our North Star in our efforts to expand services across the city.
Our vision is clear: to provide care to those who need it. This month and beyond, as we work to rebuild our city’s mental health care infrastructure, I will keep my brother Leon’s memory in my heart.
Brandon Johnson is the mayor of Chicago.
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