Mayor Winnecke Remarks Concerning City Council Passing F-2022-02 Amended, 8-0.

 See Mayor Winnecke’s Statement Posted Below:

We’ve spent a great deal of time over the last many months listening to community leaders and identifying significant community needs, exacerbated by the pandemic.

 One such area, where we have a substantial need, is in the area of mental health. It’s estimated that nearly half of the 60 million adults and children living with mental health conditions in the United States go without treatment.

 That’s why we propose investing some of our $64.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act with Southwest Behavioral Health, one of the city’s leading mental health providers, to renovate two spaces in order to create badly needed mental health services.

 The first is a new 20-bed adult residential treatment center. This co-ed facility will be for adults needing short-term residential treatment (28-35 days) following hospitalization or crisis. 

 The second new program will be a new child and family services neurodevelopmental psychiatry specialty center.

 The new children and family service will allow for children and adolescents with dual diagnoses to have a local treatment option. No such treatment exists here today.

 We also propose investing in the new Evansville Diversion Center, a six-bed 23-hour facility at United Caring Services.

 This facility is designed to assist people experiencing substance use and/or a co-occurring mental health crisis.

 The Diversion Center will provide front-line intervention in order to divert people away from the unnecessary emergency department, emergency medical services, or the criminal justice system use toward the help, support, and recovery they need.

 The City of Evansville also recognizes Easterseals as a community partner in providing mental health services. The Easterseals Rehabilitation Center has developed a Doctoral level Internship for Clinical Psychologists and a post-doctorate Fellowship for psychologists who have just completed their doctoral degrees. 

 An investment in Easterseals will expand the organization’s psychology testing and counseling capacity by four times.

 The City proposes investing in SWIRCA & More, the region’s preeminent organization focusing on enhancing the quality of life and independent living for those who are aging, people living with disabilities, and caregivers.  With our senior population growing at a rapid rate, seniors are going to outpace SWIRCA’s existing services 3 to 1 in the next four years. That’s why we propose assisting SWIRCA with a major expansion of their current building.

 The City of Evansville is also pleased to increase funding to its Affordable Housing Trust Fund in order to help create additional affordable living units within the city.

 There is an estimated gap of 1,500 affordable housing units in Evansville. Our housing needs assessment/analysis of impediments to fair housing choice, shows this gap.

 The City of Evansville is pleased to collaborate with the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership on Talent 2025, a regional initiative to increase our population and improve our talent base.

 We want our workforce to be prepared for jobs and careers of the future. We want a resilient economy that can bounce back after routine downturns, or a major crisis like COVID-19. We want to ensure equitable opportunity for every family regardless of race, history or circumstance. We have to improve the quality of the place for a healthier, more fulfilling lifestyle.

 It’s important to note that each of these proposed investments is qualified expenditures of the American Rescue Plan Act.

 We have other community investment plans that we will present to the city council in the weeks ahead that will have equally important impacts on our city.