Mental health treatment in St. Joseph County has made great strides since the launch of Oaklawn’s behavioral crisis center. Now, faith groups are asking leaders to go further by improving coordination. That was the focus of an event hosted Sunday by We Make Indiana.
Four hundred fifty community leaders and members of various faith congregations heard stories about people in crisis being cared for and connected to services. Pastor Claval Hunter said the center has become a “mental health emergency room.”
“Lives have been changed, and lives have been touched,” Hunter said.
Oaklawn said its crisis hotline answered almost 4,574 calls in 2025, while its mobile crisis team served about 851 people, and 655 individuals were admitted to the South Bend crisis center. Oaklawn estimates that’s saved the county over a million dollars in hospital and jail diversions in the first six months of last year.
But advocates say those efforts are hampered by communication challenges between various service providers. Baye Sylvester said he’s seen the benefits of the crisis teams, but he worries that progress could be lost without better communication.
“If you’re not communicating, then you might as well just be standing still,” Sylvester added.
Now, We Make Indiana is calling on South Bend and St. Joseph County to help fund a community information platform. The goal is to help providers coordinate their services, so individuals don’t miss out on opportunities for things like housing or mental health treatment. The idea has gotten support from Oaklawn and St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman.
The cost of one software option is $160,000 for a three-year contract, and We Make Indiana is asking the city and county to commit to a combined $100,000. The Memorial Hospital Foundation has provided a $60,000 grant.
During Sunday’s event, St. Joseph County Council member Dan Schaetzle said he’d like to hear from other communities before promising his support, while Council President Bryan Tanner said that while he supported the funding, his membership on Oaklawn’s board of directors would prevent him from voting on it.
Meanwhile, South Bend Mayor James Mueller said he supported the funding, but felt software alone couldn’t force providers to work together. “Our fire department, which runs EMS, already has a platform, so we’re trying to figure out what platform makes the most sense and then working to get all of the partners together, to make sure that we’re all committed to sharing and collaborating and moving forward together,” Mueller told WVPE after the event.
We Make Indiana is a financial supporter of WVPE.
