State Denies Funding For Skokie Crisis Support Program

SKOKIE, IL — Turning Point Behavioral Health, a Skokie non-profit outpatient mental health center, learned last week that the state denied its funding for a valuable crisis support program.

The Living Room Program offers a safe alternative to hospital emergency departments. The program is grant-funded and provides care for adults in distress at no cost.

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“This news is devastating, particularly for the thousands of people we’ve served over the last 15 years,” said Ann Fisher Raney, CEO of Turning Point Behavioral Health. “We have become a proud part of the recovery community that supports crisis stabilization using a remarkably effective model of care.”

Turning Point Behavioral Health was among the first two agencies in Illinois selected to design and administer the Living Room Program, which began in 2011.

According to the organization, the program has achieved a 98 percent success rate in helping individuals stabilize without needing to go to an emergency room. The program helps reduce trauma and costs while helping residents return to their families, jobs and lives as soon as possible.

"The denial of funding for the Living Room crisis program in Skokie will have serious repercussions for our community. This program has been successfully maintained by Turning Point Behavioral Health for many years, providing a much-needed safety net of support, and its loss will be deeply felt," Mayor Ann Tennes said.

Despite the lack of state funding, Turning Point Behavioral Health said it remains committed to providing immediate and effective care for those in crisis. The organization is actively exploring alternative funding solutions to sustain the program.