Gary is launching a new Behavioral Health Division and awarding $900,000 in grants to local organizations, marking a major step in the city’s effort to expand access to mental health and addiction services.
At a press conference on Thursday, Mayor Eddie Melton announced the new division along with the recipients of the funding while highlighting the importance of paying attention to mental health.
“Asking for help is not a sign of weakness,” Melton said.
The initiative was spearheaded by the Interfaith Action Network, which has been advocating tirelessly for investment in mental health resources for over three years. The Melton administration partnered with IAN to identify funding and key partners.
“We are all human beings and the stress of life, the stress of jobs, the stress of just day to day, going to and fro – sometimes we need someone with the expertise that can talk to us and listen and to provide that guidance.”
The $900,000 in funding for mental health and addiction services is being distributed across 10 local organizations in three rounds. In the first round, Sojourner Truth House received funding to expand its substance use and addiction response services, while City Life was awarded a grant to launch its “Leading with the Heart” project, which hopes to support youth and families.
The second round included four organizations. Butterfly Dreams will use its funding to provide paid summer internships and youth mental health programming. Faith Community Center is offering temporary emergency housing for women and children. The Crisis Center is launching its “Hope Initiative,” which focuses on families who have experienced traumatic loss. And Flourish Community Hub is expanding access to care by providing free part-time therapy opportunities.
The third and final round supported four more groups. For the Love of Hearts is hosting a free six-week summer camp focused on youth well-being. Edgewater Health is adding two new therapy positions to address youth substance abuse. All Things Autism is creating a day program tailored to families with children diagnosed with autism. And Compassion Care Community is implementing a hybrid case management model for youth and families in crisis.
Gary’s latest investment in mental health services builds on a growing push to close long-standing gaps in behavioral health care across the city. In recent years, local leaders have moved to shift how the city responds to mental health crises from police and emergency rooms toward community-based care. That includes a $1.5 million mobile mental health unit, which the Common Council funded through the American Rescue Plan in 2023, designed to bring support directly to residents where they live.
The project was shaped by community input and advocacy from groups like AARP Indiana, with a focus on serving older adults and individuals who have historically faced the greatest challenges in accessing care.
At the same time, the city has been developing a broader Mental Health and Crisis Network, now housed under the Gary Health Department. The goal is to coordinate care more effectively, reduce stigma, and connect residents to services beyond crisis response, including assistance with housing, transportation, and insurance. Groups like Edgewater Health and the Phoenix Nicholas Center helped lay the groundwork for that effort.
Local providers are also stepping up. Brighter Day Community Health Services has expanded youth and women-focused mental health programming, and earlier this year, NorthShore Health Centers opened a new clinic offering therapy alongside primary care. Some of those programs have been supported by earlier ARPA grants, part of a wider push to address the mental health crisis at the neighborhood level.
The investments also come against the backdrop of cuts to Medicaid services that are relied on heavily by Gary residents. During this year’s legislative session, Chakara Gunn, the city’s Behavioral Health manager, spoke out against Indiana Senate Bill 2, which proposed major cuts that advocates say will threaten residents’ access to mental health services.
“This bill is a direct threat to mental health, to disability services, and to civilization as a whole,” Gunn told Capital B Gary as the bill moved through the Legislature.
Now that the bill has come into effect as of July 1, Gunn is excited to ramp up the city’s efforts at such a crucial time.
“The goal is to have that multi-door entry,” she said. “So calling me will enable me to find out what’s going on, so that I can refer out. We want to be able to work together, rather than working in silos, and being able to connect residents to services that they may not know are available.”
“At a time when we’re seeing reduced access to health care and cuts in funding due to federal and state policy changes, Gary is making a different choice,” Melton said. “We’re choosing to invest in expanding mental health care access for our residents, with the resources we have available. This investment reflects our belief that Gary’s recovery must include mental, emotional, and spiritual healing, not just economic development.”