Roseland mental health clinic will reopen as Roseland Health Center on 115th Street, with CARE program expanded, Chicago mayor says

CHICAGO (WLS) — A ribbon cutting took place Wednesday morning to celebrate the reopening of the former Roseland Mental Health Clinic.

What was a closed mental health clinic is reopening to provide free mental health resources to the people of Roseland.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson joined Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusembo “Simbo” Ige, elected officials and community leaders in cutting the ribbon for the facility renamed Roseland Health Center.

Previous administrations closed many mental health clinics in Chicago. The reopening also marks the expansion of the Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement, or CARE, program. Mental health services and support from police in four areas around the city which will now be available in six areas.

“When you're a low-income person of color, you don't have options,” Dr. Ige said. “We want people to have options.” “This is not a competition with the police, we just want people to have more options than just the police.”

A press release from the mayor's office said the CDPH-operated clinic at 200 E. 115th St. It will provide free mental health and sexual health services to Chicago residents regardless of insurance or immigration status.

“The cost to someone of not responding where someone is constantly needing the emergency room and not getting cover,” Johnson said.

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“Today’s reopening of the Roseland Clinic and expansion of CARE represents a turning point in mental health care in Chicago,” Johnson said. “The dismantling of our city's mental health infrastructure has forced emergency rooms and jails to become de facto treatment centers, failing patients and communities alike. My administration is taking decisive action through our investments to ensure every Chicagoan has access to the critical care they need No matter their neighborhood or their ability to pay, together we will continue to choose treatment over trauma and rebuild a health care system that truly serves all of our residents.

City leaders also announced the expansion of the CARE program, which provides emergency response via 911 dispatch to people experiencing a mental health crisis.

With this expansion, CARE is also launching a citywide special case team with the capacity to support individuals experiencing a mental health emergency in all Chicago communities, the release said.

“This program is critical to providing appropriate professional care to people experiencing a mental health emergency,” Ige said. “Alongside expanding mental health services, a crisis response from trained clinicians will ensure that residents experiencing a mental health challenge can get the immediate care they need from mental health professionals as well as be connected to resources to address their unmet health and social needs.”

The CARE program involves stocked vans that go to places where people are struggling so they can get clothing, food and support for basic issues from people like Doctor Anye Whyte and EMT Dino Hickman.

“They're not afraid, it's easy to talk to us, and they see that we don't have a gun and a badge, we're just two regular guys walking down the street just trying to help,” Hickman said.

CARE teams monitor 911 calls to see where they can de-escalate a situation and get help for someone in crisis. They respond without lights or sirens, offering what they can and allowing the individual to choose for themselves.

“Being able to be a doctor on the street and meet them where they are at home in their own crisis is really powerful and necessary to help them on the path to recovery,” White said.