Mental health roundtable in Terre Haute

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Indiana’s Lieutenant Governor was in Terre Haute to discuss mental health.

Indiana’s Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch joined other leaders in Terre Haute, and she says what is being done in Vigo County can help make an impact across the entire state.

“Every community makes up Indiana,” Crouch said. “We need to be sure that while we’re focused statewide on these issues, we also have the communities engaged, because they are an important and integral part of being able to get help to those that struggle. so being here, being able to discuss it openly, helps to remove the stigma.”

Gibault Children’s Services CEO Michele Madley used the opportunity to remove the stigma by sharing the strategies used to help troubled youth return to the classroom and community in Vigo County.

“It’s wonderful,” Madley said. “I personally work on a lot of legislative issues at different levels, federal as well as state, so I’m always encouraged when we have a representative that is in-person and can hear what our difficulties are, so that I know they are addressing it at all levels.”

The Lieutenant Governor says the state is trying to improve the resources provided to mental health professionals, adding that mental health is as important to people and the community as physical health.

“We have to end that, and that is one of the reasons we’ll be able to get more people into the profession, but we’ll be able to give more help to people,” Crouch said. “Your mind and your body works together, and you can’t separate them and say we are only going to treat one and not the other.”

One of the biggest issues discussed was resources for children. VCSC superintendent Chris Himsel says that the school corporation is working to bring more therapists and other professionals into local schools.

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