Kane County Reporter

The Geneva City Council heard an update from the city's Mental health Board on the importance of "prioritizing mental health" during the regular council Meeting on Dec. 5.

"This past year, we have been encouraged by how society and our community have seemed to understand the importance of prioritizing mental health needs and the knowledge displayed as stigma continues to be diminished," Suzy Shogren, the chair of the city’s mental health board said in the meeting. "In the media, in conversation, and people's actions, there are efforts to assist when someone acknowledges that stress, anxiety and struggle is affecting their well-being."

Shogren introduced all the members of the mental health board, and she informed the board that local schools had partnered with the board to support mental health initiatives in the city. She said the board has revised its grant application, encouraging more details and communication, and since then, 13 different service providers had received $177,000 between them this year.

Shogren then introduced three of the providers, allowing them the time to tell the community about what they do. Amy Singer, founder of Joshua Tree, shared a letter with the board, in which she stated that the group are working to improve of those with intellectual disabled adults who have aged out of public schools. In a letter from Sarah Gray, the executive director of National Alliance on Mental Illness, shared a report on the group's service in southern Kane, DeKalb and Kendall counties. It is the largest grass roots mental health program in the country, and they serve all ages and abilities.

The board also received a letter from Fox Valley Hands of Hope, which shared a story of a woman who had lost her mother and her husband and turned to Fox Valley for support for her and her children. The woman told the board that she felt comforted and welcomed by the organization and said it helped turn their lives around.

"When we arrived at Grief Takes a Hike, the warmth, compassion, empathy, understanding and genuine nature of the staff made us feel unbelievable," the woman wrote to the board.