Immediately following the horrific events of 9-11, MHAI brought together a coalition to assess the plans and resources for disaster mental health already in place in Illinois.  Knowing that the mental health system in Illinois is understaffed and overburdened during the best of conditions, MHAI felt it was necessary to bring together a coalition so that Illinois could make certain that a fully developed plan to respond to and deal with the numerous mental health concerns that arise during and following a disaster was set in place. 

MHAI chairs the IL DMH Coalition, whose goal is to educate key leaders on the importance of disaster mental health efforts and assist with the integration of disaster mental health services into both state and local level plans.  The IL DMH Coalition has been successful in bringing together key leaders on the state, local, and city level to develop collaborative partnerships to advocate for better mental health treatment and care following a crisis event. 

The IL DMH Coalition serves as a consulting body to the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health in their continued development of a statewide disaster response plan and has assisted the Division with a number of trainings across the state on disaster mental health response and preparedness.  MHAI holds a seat on the Illinois Terrorism Task Force (ITTF) working with partners on Homeland Security efforts to bring mental health issues to the forefront of dialogues and planning efforts.

For more information on our Disaster Mental Health Services, please contact either Carol Gall, Executive Director, at ext. 24 or at cwoz@mhai.org, or  Ariel Mindel, Program Director, Public Education and Disaster Mental Health, at ext. 22, or at amindel@mhai.org.