Daily Herald opinion: DuPage works to raise awareness about mental health, substance use treatment

DuPage County officials are continuing to shine a light on the need to provide mental health and substance use treatment.

This month, the county hosted its inaugural Mental Health Summit.

The event, which included a keynote address from former U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy, was an opportunity for more than 200 attendees to learn about services and support systems in DuPage. Local leaders and organizations also shared information about initiatives to support mental health and promote wellness.

“It was important to me that we pull together everybody at a countywide level,” DuPage County Board Chair Deborah Conroy said. “My goal was to make more people aware of the services that we currently have.”

The summit comes as the county has made significant progress in expanding its behavioral health services.

For example, DuPage offers a crisis line, serves as a National Suicide Prevention 988 call center and has mobile crisis response teams.

During the summit, attendees went on tours to learn more about the county’s drug court program and Mental Illness Court Alternative Program.

In addition, the county is constructing a Crisis Recovery Center on the grounds of the DuPage County Health Department in Wheaton.

The new 24/7 center will open in the summer of 2025. It will allow first responders, family members and others to bring individuals experiencing a crisis to a place where they will be screened and cared for by trained mental health and substance use professionals and connected to community resources for continued support.

Right now, people dealing with a mental health crisis often find themselves in a holding cell or an emergency room.

With a staff that will include crisis services counselors, case managers, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners, DuPage’s Crisis Recovery Center will provide a better environment for recovery than a police station or the county jail. It also will serve as an alternative to an emergency trip to the hospital.

Conroy, who previously served as a state representative, has advocated for expanding mental health and addiction services and previously chaired the Illinois House Mental Health and Addiction Committee.

However, she acknowledges there are limits to what the state can accomplish. Conroy said she believes DuPage officials have “the ability to do a lot more” at the county level.

Indeed, the Crisis Recovery Center is a prime example of the county stepping up to fill a need.

Meanwhile, DuPage leaders are fighting the stigma surrounding mental health and substance use treatment and working to ensure that people who need help know there is someone to call and somewhere to get that help close to home.

Those are goals worth striving for.