The Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network announced on Wednesday a $227 million plan to expand mental health treatment in metro Detroit, a plan the organization is hoping the state will fund.
The plan is backed by the city of Detroit and Wayne County. It seeks to alleviate the heavy burden experienced by hospitals and the shortage of psychiatric beds in the state by adding hundreds of new beds and building a crisis care center, specialized residential housing and integrated residential housing.
By expanding mental health resources in metro Detroit, the plan also hopes it will deter those in need from the criminal justice system. It includes building off partnerships with law enforcement and trainings in crisis intervention.
Eric Doeh, the president and CEO of DWIHN, described the plan as both “monumental” and “essential.”
“It’s a tremendous ask, but it’s a tremendous need,” Doeh said at a Wednesday news conference.
“Creating more opportunities for our region’s most vulnerable persons by including step-down approaches to long-term care, expanded residential services, and the ability to offer behavioral health interventions for families are critical, and the time to act is now.”
At the DWHIN’s old administrative building on Milwaukee, the organization is currently converting it into a clinical hub and adding 39 beds for those in mental crisis.
DWIHN says, if funded, its plan will address gaps in mental and behavioral health services and increase capacity for both short-term and long-term impatient housing by providing 450 beds at crisis care and housing facilities across metro Detroit for those with mental or behavioral health needs.
These facilities are currently under development, according to DWIHN.
DWIHN said 60 beds will go to its new crisis care center in Detroit; 160 beds will go to in-patient psychiatric care facilities in metro Detroit; 120 beds will go to specialized residential housing, and 110 beds will go to integrated residential housing.
“We can’t let this opportunity pass,” Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said. “These individuals do not need jails, they need resources, trained professionals, and a safe place where they can receive treatment.”
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan alluded to instances where police have killed Detroiters suffering from mental illness — like Porter Burks in October 2022 and Ki’Azia Miller the following month — and instances where officers were killed by those suffering from mental illness, like Loren Courts.
Those with severe mental health issues are put on waitlists for in-patient treatment, according to DWIHN. Law enforcement is often the first to engage with individuals who are untreated, resulting in these individuals being sent to jail or emergency care, DWIHN said.
“Frankly, I’m tired of the speeches that come from elected officials after a tragedy. We don’t need your speech after tragedy. If you’re committed to mental health services, we need you to speak at budget time, which is right now in Lansing,” Duggan said.
DWIHN says current mental health care in metro Detroit resembles a “revolving door” within emergency and criminal justice systems due to insufficient resources. In Detroit alone, 1,481 the city has identified 1,481 people “stuck in this vicious cycle who have repeatedly interfaced with these systems.”
Between 2020 and 2022, that population attributed to over half of the 21,000 mental health calls for service in Detroit.
Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. She can be contacted at 313-264-0442,[email protected] or on Twitter @andreamsahouri.
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