Committees Look To Address State’s Mental Health Care Needs
SPRINGFIELD — Committees dealing with mental health and addiction met in both the Illinois House and Senate Friday to discuss a new crisis born from the COVID pandemic. “We’re fully into what I consider to be the second pandemic, which is mental health and addiction, and we have so much work to do,” Rep. Deb […]
‘I’ve Tried Everything’: Pandemic Worsens Child Mental Health Crisis
When schools closed last spring, children with severe mental illnesses were cut off from the services they’d come to rely on. Many have since spiraled into emergency rooms and even police custody.
Talk To Children About Mental Health And Suicide, Experts Say
At Riley Hospital for Children there’s been a jump in emergency room visits related to mental health and suicide. From March to December, these visits…
U Of I Admins Urge Students To Stay Vigilant As They Return To Campus
URBANA – As University of Illinois students return to the Urbana campus this month, administrators urge them to remain vigilant as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on. Campus leaders said during a virtual COVID-19 briefing yesterday that many of the same precautions that were enacted in the fall semester will remain in place during the spring, […]
University of Illinois Students Hold Vigil To Raise Suicide Awareness
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include information about the number of counselors and funds for mental health services provided by the University of Illinois. URBANA – Students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign held a vigil Nov. 1 to honor the life of a student who died by suicide in late […]
COVID-19 Worsens Mental Health, Sparks Overdoses
The continued stress from COVID-19 has heightened mental health problems nationwide. And some experts say that has led to an increase in drug overdoses.
How COVID-19 May Make Mental Health Problems Worse This Winter
Dani Hoover is a 26-year-old social worker in Indianapolis. She has battled depression and anxiety since high school, and the pandemic hasn’t made it…
As Schools Reopen Amid COVID-19, Teachers Worry About Their Mental Health
Teaching is already challenging enough without a pandemic shaking up how the classroom operates. As schools reopen, many districts are focused on…
News Around Illinois — Sept. 9, 2020
U of Illinois Sues To Stop Nurses Strike This Weekend CHICAGO (AP) — The University of Illinois Board of Trustees are suing to try to stop nurses at the University of Illinois Hospital from striking this weekend. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court names the Illinois Nurses Association as a defendant and […]
Mental Health Providers Take Steps To Meet Growing Need During The Pandemic
PAXTON, IL – Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are reporting symptoms of depression, according to a recent study in the journal JAMA Network Open. The study finds those with lower incomes and high exposure to coronavirus stressors are at greatest risk. In rural Ford County, more people have reached out for help […]
How Natural Disasters Are Driving A Mental Health Crisis
Barbara Herndon lay in the center of her bed, muscles tensed, eyes on the television. She was waiting for the storm. All morning on that day in late May…
A Flood Devastated This Town In 2019, And Residents Are Still Struggling
Floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters can devastate a town in just a few hours. But the impact on residents can linger for years in the form of…
Farmers’ Struggles With Mental Health Increase Amid Pandemic
CHAMPAIGN — Meg Moynihan knows what it’s like to struggle. In 2016 she and her husband, who own an organic dairy farm in Minnesota, found themselves without a processor, which turns farm milk into a consumer product. Their farm was too far a drive for too little milk, they were told. They didn’t find another […]
Police Reform Issues Loom Large Before Urbana City Council
URBANA — A set of shared goals and standards for police and communities of color was approved by the Urbana City Council Monday night. Council members also heard a new proposal for shifting response to mental health emergencies away from the police, and on Tuesday, made last-minute reductions to police spending in the new city […]
COVID-19 Crisis Puts Pressure On Farmers’ Mental Health
Studies have found the rates of mental illness and suicide are higher for farmers . They work long hours, have limited social contact and are at the…