From Susan’s Desk
December 16, 2021
Many of you know that several members of Josselyn’s leadership team contracted COVID at the very beginning of the pandemic. I have often thought that, as scary as that time was, there was an odd silver lining to it. For me, I was no longer anxious about catching the virus (and checked my antibodies regularly). It gave me the confidence to double, triple my efforts towards helping others whose mental health would surely be affected by the ravages of COVID.
I had no way of anticipating the enormity of that need. By any measure, Josselyn’s volume has grown exponentially since the start of the pandemic. And, while another silver lining of the pandemic was the rapid shift to teletherapy, not everyone benefits from remote services. Some people, especially children, must be treated in person.
So, even though we had worked out a hybrid model where each of our clinicians shared a clinical office, we still didn’t have enough clinical space to treat all the people were seeking services from Josselyn. Until recently…
I’m very pleased to share that Josselyn has purchased a 57,000 sq. ft. building at 1135 Skokie, in Northbrook; indeed, a big leap in our ability to provide mental health for all.
Over the next two years, we will be adding additional services at our Northbrook location. We are planning:
- A community training center for Mental Health First Aid and clinical continuing education
- An expressive therapy studio for our growing number of art, movement, and music therapists
- An expanded teen Intensive Outpatient Program, doubling the size of our current footprint
- Two floors of Therapy and Psychiatry services for children, adolescents, adults, families, and groups
- Horticulture therapy and tranquil views of the pond on the 3.5-acre grounds
- Ample parking for our clients and employees
- Much more!
Northfield will always be home to Josselyn’s heritage location, with its access to public transportation for staff and clients, and the familiarity with this location which many of our clients find comforting. But I do look forward to the Mental Health for all multi-directional Edens Expressway signage that the new building provides as a reminder to the hundreds of thousands of commuters who pass each day that mental health is just as important as physical health.
This is an enormous undertaking, but the stars truly aligned to allow this acquisition to happen at a time when the need for high quality, accessible mental health services are needed more than ever. Hopefully you’ve been viewing our videos about what mental health for all means to many of our staff, donors, and friends. We still have a lot of work to do to create a regional mental health center of excellence. But, we can now say that we have enough room to provide this care.
GIVE NOW to support Josselyn’s work to serve many more clients and make mental health for all a reality.
