New GuideLink Center in Iowa City will help the mentally ill in Johnson County

Sullivan's Salvos

By Rod Sullivan
Posted 2/10/21

The GuideLink Center, a behavior health access center, is open for business on Feb. 15! This is the result of the work of literally scores of people for literally over a decade. I am so pleased that …

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New GuideLink Center in Iowa City will help the mentally ill in Johnson County

Sullivan's Salvos

Posted

The GuideLink Center, a behavior health access center, is open for business on Feb. 15! This is the result of the work of literally scores of people for literally over a decade. I am so pleased that we have arrived at this day!

A bit of background: In July of ’18 the Board recently voted (4-1 with Rettig in the negative) to purchase 5.34 acres of land on Southgate Avenue in Iowa City for the purpose of constructing a Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center. That center was later named GuideLink.

In general, GuideLink traces back to the efforts of former Johnson County Jail Alternatives Coordinator Jessica Peckover. Jessica had visited a program in Bexar County, Texas (San Antonio) that had done a remarkable job of redirecting people with mental health and/or substance abuse issues from the jail and emergency room to more appropriate services. Jessica came away impressed and convinced a number of Johnson County folks to visit as well. (I was one of those visitors.)

The program in Bexar County is a true win-win-win. First, and most importantly, sick people get the care they need. Secondly, officers are able to drop off patients quickly and get back on the streets, increasing public safety. Finally, local governments actually save money serving these folks. Win-win-win. I believe we will see the same thing here.

We decided to move forward. That process started with sending local law enforcement officers to San Antonio to be trained in Crisis Intervention Training (CIT). After sending dozens of officers from various agencies, we felt comfortable doing the training ourselves here in Johnson County. As of this writing, well over 90% of all law enforcement officers in Johnson County have been trained on CIT.

But training officers is only one piece of the puzzle. We also need to provide those officers an option other than jail or the ER. That alternative is GuideLink.

GuideLink is a joint project including but not limited to Johnson County; a number of cities, including Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty; numerous local nonprofits; the UI College of Nursing; and the Department of Emergency Medicine at the UIHC. The managing entity is Abbe Health.

Law enforcement officers have begged for help for decades. Family members have begged for help for decades. People who will be served have needed help for decades. The day has finally arrived where we can serve them each appropriately.

This particular location has several advantages: It is close to the Crisis Center, Shelter House, and Prelude, all of which are going to be key players in the project. Law enforcement officers like the location. It is on a bus line. We built what we need now and have a bit of room to expand in the future, if necessary.

I am proud of the work we have done so far, and proud of my work to get GuideLink open. People with mental illnesses and their families deserve better. It is time we took this step.