City Mental Health Board
Issue: Building a Healthy & Inclusive Society
Target Level of Office: Local
Policy Origin: City of Evanston Mental Health Board, Illinois
Link: www.YEONetwork.org/2013policy/?i=233
Summary Narrative of the Policy: One of the first cities to institutionalize a progressive mental
health program, the City of Evanston Mental Health Board (MHB) was adopted by local referendum
in 1969. The MHB consists of nine community members who are appointed by the Mayor to
plan, fund, coordinate, and evaluate local community-based services for community members
in need of psychiatric, developmental, and substance abuse services. The MHB allocates funds
to community agencies through contracts for specific programs and monitors and evaluates
Evanston agencies that provide mental health services.
Relevant Talking Points & Important Information:
• According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in four adults – approximately
61.5 million Americans – experiences mental illness in a given year.
• Local governments have a large role in national health care. Whether policies and
standards are set by the federal and/or state governments, local governments deliver
many of the health services, especially those directed at vulnerable populations.
• The Evanston Mental Health Board is part of the Evanston city government. As the local
mental health authority, the Mental Health Board is responsible for people who have, or
are at risk of having, mental and emotional disorders or issues, development disabilities,
and/or substance abuse problems. Moreover, the programs and services funded by the
board are to be available to all Evanston residents, regardless of ability to pay.
• Defined by the city charter as an entity that funds both mental and human services,
the projects supported by the Evanston City Mental Health Board include the Childcare
Network of Evanston, Connections for the Homeless, Peer Services, Y.O.U. Youth and
Family Services, and Curt Café – a non-profit coffee shop that employs former convicts
to provide them with job training and marketable skills.
Policy
2014 Book
Local Level
61