FORT WAYNE — According to Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, the COVID-19 pandemic brought some good along with the bad when it came to increasing public understanding of the importance of mental health.
“I thought, we’ve got to continue this conversation. We’ve got to continue to put a spotlight on it,” she said, opening a recent exchange between Bowen Health officials and others with a professional interest in improving mental health in Northeast Indiana. “We’ve been going around to communities, just gathering influencers and talking about what are the next steps,” she said. “What do we need to do? How can we change the landscape for those that struggle?”
Allen Superior Court Judge Andrew Williams, responsible for all emergency detention orders and involuntary commitments in Allen County, wanted to know how the “system” that he served was working when he started the job.
“When I took over the mental health cases about four years ago, I really wanted to understand what everybody’s role was and where everybody was in terms of treatment philosophy, how well people got along with each other,” Williams said. I’m not just talking about providers, but law enforcement, prosecutor’s office, everybody.”