Health
Chicago Programs Aim to Provide Nontraditional Mental Health Care
by Misha Oberoi, Rachel Yoon and Victoria Ryan
Chicago residents struggling with mental health issues often encounter barriers to accessing traditional care like therapists or medication. Notably, there are no psychiatric hospitals located on the South and West sides of the city, according to the Cook County Department of Public Health.
One of the institutions trying to make mental health care more accessible is the Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center, a behavioral treatment center in East Garfield Park aimed at providing mental health support and addiction recovery in nontraditional ways.
Above and Beyond CEO Dan Hostetler said the center relies on research and lived experience to customize programs.
“We have art, we have music therapy, we have yoga, we have acupuncture,” Hostetler said. “These are all ways for people to reach inside themselves, to celebrate themselves.”
By offering a wide range of programs, the center aims to provide a positive treatment experience for everyone.
Kris Ray, 38, has been attending classes at Above and Beyond since August. She has struggled with depression and alcohol addiction since she was 16 and is a single mother to a 20-year-old daughter.
“I feel like in recovery, you really need to have compassion for people and people that honestly know what you’ve been through to actually do the job,” Ray said.
For Hostetler, Above and Beyond’s mission is personal.
“What got me into this line of work is my addiction,” Hostetler said. “So I am an alcoholic in recovery, and I’ve got 39 years of drinking and using, both.”
Hostetler added that it’s part of his mission to provide mental health care that is barrier-free. Through grant funding and donations, Above and Beyond’s services are free, allowing people to focus on recovery instead of finances.
“If we can help them get out of here self-navigating their own lives based on their purpose and meaning, that’s perpetual,” Hostetler said. “That goes their whole life.”
Ray, who has tried programs at other centers, said she has made the most progress with Above and Beyond.
“They make you set goals and they want you to actually finish these goals,” Ray said. “They don’t rush you; they’re very polite.”
This is Ray’s third time in recovery, due to interruptions from incarceration. She has been incarcerated three times, each on battery charges. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, two of five people who go to prison have a history of mental illness.
“My mental health was definitely bad,” Ray said. “And I went on a binge and just spiraled out of control. And ultimately, I ended up going back to prison.”
In 2021, the city of Chicago launched the Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement Program, or CARE. The original program dispatched a team of police officers and mental health responders for 911 calls regarding mental health or substance abuse. However, police presence garnered criticism from community groups and activists.
According to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, up to 10% of police-citizen interactions involve mental health crises. Additional research estimates that police are up to five times more likely to use force if a citizen has a mental health condition.
Police interaction during a mental health crisis last year led to the shooting death of Sonya Massey in Springfield.
In line with decriminalization efforts, the city removed police personnel from CARE in September and rolled out mobile support vans.
Tiffany Patton-Burnside, senior director of crisis services at the Chicago Department of Public Health, emphasized the importance of the changes.
“It’s not that it’s new that people go into crisis, but how we respond to crisis is new,” Patton-Burnside, said.
CARE’s plans to expand in 2025 have been put on hold due to potential budget cuts. However, programs like CARE and Above and Beyond are still trying to help Chicagoans.
“The most rewarding part of my job I would say is ensuring that people who need the help get the help that they need,” Patton-Burnside said.
Access to alternative mental health care has given Ray the chance to rebuild her relationship with her daughter.
“I’ve never been able to be at any of her graduations because I’ve always been locked up,” Ray said. “So to be at the college graduation, it’s a big deal for me, you know?”
