Chicago group brings Mobile Mental Health bus to Black, Latino residents
CHICAGO (CBS) – In a time of crisis, admitting that you need help to manage your mental health is often the first step, but from there, without knowing where to go or who to contact, that is often where things stop.
A community group in the Austin neighborhood is working to eliminate those hurdles of going out to find resources, by pulling right up to the people in need.
On a piece of land on Chicago's West Side, the community group BUILD Inc. has done just that.
"We've got a whole new building," said David Rodriguez, a BUILD member. "We've got a second floor finally."
CBS 2 met the staff who will spend parts of their day here when the new space at Harrison and Laramie, right off the Eisenhower, opens to its Austin neighbors next month.
There's a brand new gym, colorful workspaces, a kitchen and more, all of it meant to be a safe space for kids and young adults to hang out and connect to resources they need.
"Honestly, we do anything and everything," said Gabriela Castillo.
And that need is great. So much so that what brought CBS 2 here wasn't the shiny new building. It's what BUILD is doing outside the walls.
"Let's say our client has very little access to transportation or no access to transportation or they're on parole and can't really leave their house, right? We come to them," Castillo added.
She's a member of the Mobile Mental Health Team, doing her work on wheels.
"I'm really about a rapid stabilization, so if someone is in need of housing, employment," she said.
When Rodriguez is on board, he's providing therapy.
"Mental health overall is a stigma in the community, both Black and brown communities so even bringing that up is like, 'We don't want to talk about that,'" he said.
The idea is while the bus rolling up may not be subtle, within its windows, tinted for privacy, there are comfortable couches and an ability to meet wherever. It creates a chance share that many young people wouldn't seek out.
"I would say just treat it as if it's like a phone call with your best friend or a diary entry," said Dameon Reid, who attended therapy with Rodriguez for the first time when the bus came to his work.
"I realized that having that platform to not only vent, but just get a level-headed type of perspective on some of the things that I'm experiencing I think is very important, and David does a great job of meeting me where I am," Reid said.
Beyond personal anecdotes, numbers show this outreach is working. BUILD said 84% of youth who came in reporting emotional struggles say they improved their ability to manage emotions. About 88% of youth needing help with conflicts said they improved conflict resolution skills.
And while BUILD focuses on mentoring youth, it doesn't turn away adults who need the same assistance.
"When I was homeless, they helped me, help me with an apartment," said Paula Lucious.
A meeting on the bus changed Lucious' life, and there's no doubt about it when you see the vulnerability she's now willing to share
"I'm getting a little emotional," Lucious said.
She never thought she'd go to therapy. Few who step foot on the Mobile Mental Health Bus do.
"We're breaking generational cures. We're breaking generational stigmas of what mental health is about," Rodriguez said.
But they'll tell you they're better for it.
"I don't really have too many people, and when they reach out to me, it made me feel good," Lucious said.
And that's a job well done.
As of this weekend, BUILD's new building is open, so help is available for that community on four wheels and within four walls.