Good Samaritan Supports the Importance of Mental Health

May is Mental Health Awareness Month serving as a time to reflect on the behavioral health needs of our friends, family and neighbors.

Good Samaritan’s Samaritan Center is a regional Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) that provides a comprehensive array of services needed to create access to social service needs in all levels of behavioral health concerns, in addition to necessary treatment for those with the most serious and complex mental health and substance use disorders.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is ebbing, its effects on our collective mental health are proving severe and long lasting, particularly among younger people, a pandemic within a pandemic. According to the 2021 National Alliance on Mental Illness survey, nearly 2 in 5 adults struggled with mental health issues in 2020, compared to about 1 in 5 adults before the pandemic. The survey also found that of those adults with mental illness, only 46% received treatment in 2020.

The crisis is especially acute among youth and young adults, as trends that had already predated the pandemic have turned even more alarming. In 2020, 75% of people aged 18–24 reported at least one mental health or substance use concern. In 2021, emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts were 51% higher among adolescent girls than in 2020.

The Samaritan Center continues to be the hub for services in the area. Programs are available for inpatient services, addiction services, youth and young adults, in-school and in-home programs, parenting, day programming, mobile services and crisis programming.

In May 2020, Samaritan Center received a $4 million Federal grant to increase the access to and improve the quality of community mental health and substance use disorder treatment services. Those monies allowed additional direct service delivery staff, including case managers, therapists, a primary nurse practitioner, and peer recovery specialists to the staff of Samaritan Center, significantly reducing the wait time for initial access to care.

The grant also focused on four major areas of behavioral health care. Those include a Mobile Integrated Wellness Center, the Wabash Valley Friendship Clubhouse, Family Preservation Services in the Willows Youth Services, and Adult Chemical Dependency Services.

“We are proud of the work our Samaritan Center team does each day helping individuals and their families through some of their most difficult times,” said Rob McLin, President and CEO of Good Samaritan. “Our organization understands the importance of patient wellness, which includes both physical and mental health care. I could not be more proud of everyone’s hard work and dedication.”

Contact the Samaritan Center at 812-886-6800 for more information about our programs.