Cook County and the city of Chicago lead a mental health center project which has been opened on the South Side of the city in response to an issue law enforcement and the Cook County Jail staff see regularly.

A former police district office, the Community Triage Center , has been transformed into a mental health facility which included safe new rooms to assess people who are in need of mental health assistance. The partnership between the city and county has exended to more training for police officers to recognize who seeks help.

Cook County public defender Amy Campanelli said,  “I have spoken to many police officers over the years who have arrested people that they would have rather put into treatment,”.

The facility has been located at East 115th Street, South Indiana Avenue in the Roseland neighborhood.

The chief psychologist of Cook County Hospital, Dr. Kenya Key, knew how helpful that assessment could be.The CTC will be open through the  year round, 24X7 , an attempt to diminish criminal situations from a mental health necessicity.

She stated, “Jail is not a therapeutic environment to provide mental health care,”

Dr. Jay Shannon of Cook County Hospital  said, “We’re imagining this will reduce the need for emergency room services, or jail services, both of which are quite a bit more expensive,”

By Prakriti Neogi