Trinity Services opens Joliet location for emergency mental health care

In 2021, New Lenox-based Trinity Services opened a Living Room in Orland Park, a program that diverts mental health crises.

Trinity Services recently opened a second Living Room at 2000 Glenwood Ave. in Joliet. The Living Room is an Illinois Department of Human Services program that gives adults 24-hour, 365-day access to free emergency mental health care.

Bonnie Hassan, director of outpatient services at Trinity Services, said in an email that partnerships with first responders and Trinity Services’ own experiences with providing mental health services influenced its decision to participate in this program.

“We recognized a need for an alternative place for people to go when experiencing a mental health related crisis,” Hassan said. “Often people do not know where to go for assistance and end up in the emergency room or contacting first responders. The Living Room is an alternative for people who do not need those higher levels of care.”

The Living Room concept

Rachel Evans, director for the Living Room in Joliet, said the Living Room is a safe space with “calming colors” for any adult – 18 and older – who is experiencing any kind of mental health or substance abuse challenge.

Evans said a clinician will assess the adult for risk. This helps determine if the Living Room is a good fit for that adult or if he or she needs a higher level of care.

e adult will then meet with a Recovery Support Specialist – a person with experience of these challenges – who may also help the guest develop an action plan before leaving, Evans said.

Patients may self-refer or be referred to the Living Room by first responders or “other organizations with which an individual experiencing such a crisis may come into contact,” according to the IDPH website.

The Living Room is free and insurance is not checked or needed, Evans said.

“One of the most important things is that we don’t turn anyone away,” Evans said. “We have to provide every guest with assistance to connect them to some type of level of care and resources.”

Helping people in crisis

Evans said the right level of care and resources could range from sending the person to the hospital or connecting them with resources in the community. That type of care doesn’t always happen when someone goes straight to a hospital’s emergency department, she said.

“A large percentage of people that go to the ER for a self-identified mental health crisis really don’t end up being admitted and are turned away because their symptoms are not severe enough,” Evans said. “We see people coming in who are experiencing a lot of depression, suicidal thoughts, anxiety. Some are very lonely. Some are struggling with job loss.

“With people that are struggling with addiction, they might just need someone to talk to. They might not be experience those high level of symptoms but are needing that safe place and someone to talk to. So we don’t turn anyone away. … We try to meet each guest with what their need is.”

Evans said the average Living Room stay is two to three hours. But some need less than that, Evans said. Some people are already in recovery groups or in counseling and just need more time to talk and process, Evans said.

“We see people coming in who are experiencing a lot of depression, suicidal thoughts, anxiety. Some are very lonely. Some are struggling with job loss.”

—  Rachel Evans, director for the Living Room in Joliet

Hussan said in the email people who visit the Living Room “rate their levels of distress on entering and leaving the site.” Ratings typically show “significant decreases” in distress after spending time at the Living Room and interacting with Living Room staff, she said.

“Living Room staff have also been able to connect people to resources in the community and provide follow up services to try to help prevent or decrease future crisis events,” Hussan said.

That’s why the Will-Grundy chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness has a small office in both the Joliet and Orland Park locations of Trinity Services Living Room programs, according to Cheryl Habeeb, assistant director of Nami Will-Grundy.

Support groups and classes are just some of the resources NAMI Will-Grundy has to offer, Habeeb said. She stressed that the Living Room is not just for those with an actual mental illness.

“It can also be for anyone who is having a bad day or needs someone to talk to,” Habeeb said. “You don’t have to have a mental health disorder to be in crisis. It could just be someone who says, ‘I got fired from my job and I don’t know what to do or where to go.’”

For more information, visit trinityservices.org and namiwillgrundy.org.