New 17,000 sq. ft. Behavioral Health Services Facility Opens in West Garfield Park This Summer
The West Side of Chicago has a 17-year lifespan gap compared to downtown, widening to 25 years for those with chronic mental illness. Historical disinvestment in the communities of the West Side of Chicago has long had a significant impact on community wellness and the behavioral health needs of its residents, particularly among Black and Latinx communities. Due to these many disparities, behavioral health organizations across the city have joined together to fill the gap and provide a continuum of services, for both mental and physical health needs. One of these new partnerships is Collaborative Bridges. The West Side organization recently held a groundbreaking celebration for a new Wellness Center in West Garfield Park at 4223 W. Lake Street. Over 80 people including elected leaders, collaboratives, community members and local partners attended the event. The 17,000 square foot facility, when complete, will bring mental health resources to the community and will serve as a beacon of hope for people who are living with mental health conditions and their families.
Congressman Danny K. Davis (7th District) in wishing his congratulations to Collaborative Bridges said, “One of the great needs that continues to exist is the need for mental health services. In all of the things I have been involved with, nothing is more rewarding to me than this network, this collaboration, this coming together.”
Founded in 2022, Collaborative Bridges is a partnership of historic West Side Chicago safety net hospitals and community mental health agencies designed to ensure that the care of people experiencing mental health and substance use needs are supported in their community, especially after a hospital discharge.
Founding members include Bobby E. Wright Comprehensive Behavioral Health, Humboldt Park Health, Habilitative Systems, Inc., The Loretto Hospital, Hartgrove Behavioral Health System and C4 Chicago. Collaborative Bridges is funded by the Healthcare Transformation Collaborative program of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Collectively, the organizations have over 300 years’ experience in ensuring comprehensive behavioral health and crisis response services for the Westside of Chicago.
“It is so important to recognize the power in collaboration. We know there’s a tremendous amount of fragmentation in human services and at the community services level and when we come together to make things happen, we can really make things happen,” said Donald Dew, President & CEO, Habilitative Systems, Inc.
Scheduled to be open in late summer 2024, the Collaborative Bridges Wellness Center in West Garfield Park will be a community within itself to foster recovery from behavioral health issues. At capacity, the Wellness Center will employ 125 people and serve about 3,000 patients a year. It will ensure that people leaving hospitals will have a place to go immediately at discharge to engage with Collaborative Bridges care teams, with services designed to serve those who are most frequent utilizers for emergency room care to address behavioral health needs.
Under current systems of care, the rate of suicide attempts is 300% higher the week after discharge while only 25% of behavioral health hospital discharges are connected to aftercare supports and 40% of all individuals with inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations are readmitted within the following year. Collaborative Bridges has lowered the readmission rate to less than 10% through its services to date. The Wellness Center will continue to ensure a greater reduction of readmissions.
The completed Wellness Center will have large group rooms, for use by community organizations to support Social Determinants of Health needs and provide resources to the community. In addition, there will be 18 rooms for therapy, as well as dedicated spaces for primary care and pharmacy services. By partnering with primary care and pharmacy providers, Collaborative Bridges will offer comprehensive care. Collaborative Bridges will establish empathetic spaces for individuals and families experiencing crisis and working on their recovery, fostering a healing environment that is trauma-informed and builds community support.
“Collaborative Bridges is about working with folks who have chronic rehospitalizations. The work we do intrinsically is connected to poverty, race, ethnicity. Fundamentally it’s about recognizing the barriers and together with our partners – making change. This space is one of the answers,” said Collaborative Bridges’ Executive Director Patrick Dombrowski. Collaborative Bridges is committed to transforming behavioral health services on the West Side, promoting collaboration, compassion, and community integration to create a brighter future for the West Side of Chicago.
Persons wanting more information or seeking services may call 872-235-0777 or visit www.thecollaborativebridges.org.
