mental health services

The need for mental health care in the Ann Arbor area and across the country continues to increase due to the many challenges in our world today. WEMU's Lisa Barry talks with Ann Arbor psychologist Dr. Sharon Gold-Steinberg about "The Resourced Therapist," a collaboration with Carryn Lund providing an online platform that helps therapists and other helping professionals feel more effective, supported, and nourished in their work especially during these challenging times. 

This week for "On the Ground Ypsi," our weekly conversation with Concentrate Media's Sarah Rigg and WEMU's Lisa Barry, they talk with Melisa Tasker, the program coordinator for the Washtenaw County "CARES team," about the mental health services they provide to the community funded by a 2018 county public safety and mental health preservation millage.

Michigan has a number of underserved urban and rural communities with limited access to quality mental health services for children, yet most children in these communities have access to primary care.

Lisa Barry talks with Eastern Michigan University assistant professor Alexandros Maragakis about the grant he recently received to expand behavioral health services to underserved populations.

There has been some progress made in societal acceptance of the trans community, but there is a long way to go.  Most communities still lack adequate support systems for trans people and their families to help navigate through.  In this week's "Washtenaw United," Roz Gould Keith joined WEMU's David Fair to discuss her family's journey and the nonprofit organization it inspired, Stand with Trans. 

The Fresh Start Clubhouse in Ann Arbor is in the process of becoming an independent organization in order to offer mental health services to more residents in Washtenaw County.  

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations has spiked in recent weeks across Michigan.  In response, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced new restrictions to combat the spread of the virus, including no indoor dining at restaurants and bars  and the cancellation of high school athletics.  Washtenaw County Health Department spokesperson Susan Cerniglia  joined WEMU's David Fair to discuss the new restrictions as we head toward the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Veterans Day 2020: The day we honor the men and women who fought for our freedoms and risked their lives serving in the military.

This year, many veterans face extra stresses returning back to civilian life, especially in a pandemic and numerous national disasters and civil unrest.  

Lisa Barry talks with Tyson Gatermann, Suicide Prevention Program Coordinator for the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, about concerns for the mental health of veterans this year.

Academic counselors at Washtenaw Community College completed a training that will help students address mental health issues during COVID-19.  

Mental health and water and sewage rates were main topics of discussion during Tuesday night’s Ypsilanti city council meeting.  

We are living through what many call a “double pandemic.”  COVID 19-hit, and now we are struggling through another phase of change in the effort to end systemic racism and anti-Black violence.  The struggles are real, and many feel alone and without support.  Addressing it gave birth to the project “Ypsi: In This Together.”  The program, developed in conjunction with the counseling services organization Collaborative ChangeMakers, is creating needed connection.  In this week’s edition of “Washtenaw United,” Dr. Mishelle Rodriguez shares the genesis and growth of the program with WEMU's David Fair.

Ypsilanti's Corner Health Center is connecting with Ford Motor Company to provide a safe space for teens and young adults deal with the many challenges of what's happening right now due to COVID-19 and systemic racism.

WEMU's Lisa Barry talks with Corner Health Center executive director Versell Smith and Pamela Alexander, director of community development at Ford, about a recent virtual teen summit and plans for additional community outreach moving forward.

After the pandemic made it necessary to lay off six full-time employees, the Fresh Start Clubhouse in Ann Arbor has begun to offer more mental health services.  

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, part of a month devoted to raising awareness of the struggles that impact most people from time to time.

WEMU's Lisa Barry talks with University of Michigan professor of psychology and psychiatry and the creator of "Mood Lifters" Dr. Patricia Deldin, who talks about the issues people are dealing with which are magnified by our global health crisis.

From contact tracing to continuing to social distance, Washtenaw County health officer Jimena Loveluck talks with WEMU's Lisa Barry about where we are now in the battle with COVID-19 and what we will need to do to try to move back into some sense of "normalcy."

Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels has launched a new program called “Only a Ring Away” to help their clients during the COVID-19 crisis.  

Dealing with the global health crisis from the coronavirus is difficult for most everyone, but those still working "on the front lines" are likely experiencing increased anxiety and a greater likelihood of mental health issues that could need support.

WEMU's Lisa Barry spoke with Felicia Brabec, a Washtenaw County commissioner and also a clinical psychologist, about a statewide mental health support program she's involved with.

Back in November 2017, Washtenaw County voters approved a millage to increase funding for mental health services and public safety.  In the last two years, those funds have been allocated to 11 new programs.  Derrick Jackson from the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department and Lisa Gentz from Washtenaw County Mental Health Services join WEMU's David Fair for a conversation about how these vital services have improved and what lies ahead in this week's "Washtenaw United."  

Lying to your landlord about needing an emotional support animal could become a crime in the state.  As Cheyna Roth reports, bills in the state House would make it a misdemeanor.

Mental health patients might have to wait longer to get their conditions diagnosed – if they can get care at all.  That’s according to mental health counselors, who say a rule change by the state is about to put thousands of them out of business.  Rick Pluta has more.

Childhood trauma takes time to heal.  It also requires resources that may not be easy to find.  Deb Gordon-Gurfinkel decided to use her experience in drama education to create a program called "Telling It."  It uses arts as a means to help troubled youth in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.  Gordon-Gurfinkel joined WEMU's David Fair to discuss "Telling It" on this week's "Washtenaw United."

When parents try to talk to their kids about subjects like drugs, sex, or suicide, the kids may not want to listen.  So, the Corner Health Center in Ypsilanti developed the "Health Ambassadors" program, which uses younger counselors to work with teens on these tough subjects.  In this week's "On the Ground-Ypsi," WEMU's Lisa Barry and Concentrate Media's Sarah Rigg learn all about this program with Corner Health Center behaviorial health coordinator Jen MacLeod and health ambassador Cecilia Aguilar.

There are five candidates seeking to become Ypsilanti's next mayor.  Sitting Mayor Amanda Edmonds decided against seeking re-election.  2nd Ward City councilwoman Beth Bashert was unopposed in the August primary but now faces a run-off with four others.  Anne Brown has previously served on Ypsilanti City Council.  Adrienne Hirschfelder is a lecturer at Eastern Michigan University.  Mickiela Tate is an Ypsilanti resident dipping into local politics for the first time, and Shiela McSpadden is a write-in candidate seeking her first elective office.  Four of the five candidates gathered at Riverside Arts Center for a public forum Tuesday night.  McSpadden did not participate.  89.1 WEMU's Jorge Avellan was there. 

Ann Arbor and the surrounding communities have been busy with such matters as a lawsuit involving the Library Lot and upcoming school board elections.  These are just a few of topics discussed in this week's "Civic Matters" with WEMU's Patrick Campion and the CivCity Initiative's Mary Morgan.

High schoolers, lawmakers, and concerned citizens held a rally at the state Capitol Thursday for changes to the state’s gun laws.

Every Monday morning, the executive director of the CivCity Initiative will join WEMU's David Fair for a conversation on topics pertinent to the city of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County.  Mary Morgan provides news, analysis, commentary and explains the various ways residents can become more engaged.

Creating a more effective way of utilizing the sheriff's office in the larger countywide effort to deal with mental illness.  That is a more attainable goal following passage of the Washtenaw County Community Mental Health and Public Safety millage on Tuesday.  Sheriff Jerry Clayton joined 89.1 WEMU's David Fair for a look ahead. 

An 8-year, 1-mill tax for mental health and public safety services in Washtenaw County won roughly 64-percent voter support on Tuesday. The county won't start collecting that tax until December of 2018. Between now and the, the legality of the tax capture may end up in court. 

A mental health services and public safety millage wins countywide approval, while voters in the nine public school districts in Washtenaw County pass a special education renewal question. Two countywide millage issues on the ballot in Washtenaw county were both approved in Tuesday's elections.