Mixed mental health report for Madison County and Indiana
Mar. 26—ANDERSON — As they have every year since 2020, Madison County residents, particularly youth, are experiencing mental health after-effects of COVID-19 lockdowns.
At the beginning of 2023, mental health professionals reported increases of social isolation, suicidal ideation and avoidance behaviors in 2022.
In 2023, Vivian Hinders, clinical manager for Aspire Indiana Health, noticed an increase in requests for mental health services among children in grades K-6.
Hinders also reported increased behavioral issues among adolescents, which she called lingering effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Aspire has been working to establish groups and other means of supporting people suffering mental health repercussions from the pandemic.
In April 2023, the Indiana General Assembly took steps to boost the state's mental health infrastructure by passing Senate Bill 1. Local advocates saw its passage as a step in the right direction but had concerns about the bill's final form.
The state approved a $100 million appropriation, which was less than advocates hoped.
Advocates proposed an annual $130 million two-year appropriation from the state to help establish a 988 behavioral crisis response system and certified community behavioral health clinics. They also lobbied for a $1 surcharge for using the 988 system.
The 988 hotline acts as a behavioral health version of 911. Instead of a police officer or paramedic, a social worker and a peer recovery coach, someone who's been through a similar mental illness, will show up at the person's residence to help.
Services could include the patient going to a stabilization unit, which would be set up like a living room area where a person could stay until stable, for less than 24 hours.
The state's $100 million appropriation, advocates say, limits the services.
"The lack of method for full, long-term sustainable funding means that evidence-based behavioral health infrastructure is still not guaranteed for Hoosiers," Stephen C. McCaffrey, president of Mental Health America of Indiana, wrote in a newsletter.
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