Maine Township expands access to mental health services

One in five adults will be diagnosed with a mental disorder within any given year. Maine Township's MaineStay Youth & Family Services now offers residents convenient access to affordable psychiatric care when therapy or counseling is not enough.

Made possible by grant funding from Maine Township and a partnership with The Josselyn Center, psychiatric services offered at Maine Township Town Hall include comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, medication management, consultation, collaboration and referral.

Clients must be 18 years old or older and Medicaid recipients are welcome. Residents interested in obtaining psychiatric services should call (847) 297-2510 to begin the intake process.

When Maine Center closed abruptly in 2015, many low-income clients receiving psychiatric care were left without access to local services. To ease the burden, Maine Township provided funding for several mental health centers in surrounding communities with funds previously allocated for Maine Center and began exploring options so residents could receive services closer to home.

"Access to psychiatric care is a critical need and can make the difference between functioning and not functioning in society," said MaineStay Director Richard Lyon.

For low-income clients, it is nearly impossible to find a psychiatrist willing to work with them, and those who do typically have to wait six months or more to obtain an appointment.

In addition, recently many of the referral sources Maine Township has used for residents have stopped accepting new clients from Maine Township, according to Lyon. The budgetary concerns caused by a lack of state funding mean that many mental health providers are struggling to remain solvent.

"At a time when access to mental health services is being reduced throughout Illinois due to the state budget crisis, Maine Township is proud to be one of the only organizations able to expand access to mental health care for those who are most vulnerable and in need," said Maine Township Supervisor Carol A. Teschky.

MaineStay Youth & Family Services was formed in 1975 and supports the growth of healthier families in the Maine Township community by providing affordable strength-based counseling and comprehensive programs focused on prevention and education.

All its programs and groups for families and at-risk youth are either free or low-cost.

The Josselyn Center is a community-based behavioral health center in Northfield that serves more than 60 communities in the Northern Illinois region.

For information, visit www.mainetownship.com/mainestay or www.josselyn.org, or call (847) 297-2510 or (847) 441-5600.