Local officials toured Frontline Care Center during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 9, celebrating the veteran and first responder focused facility. The building was donated by a local doctor. (Joe States/Lake County News-Sun)
A veteran and first-responder-focused mental health facility in Round Lake, shaped by tragedy, was toured by local officials on Monday morning.
Lake County Board Chair Sandra Hart said the facility, the Frontline Care Center, will help break the stigma around mental health services, especially for first responders and veterans who have "heard, seen and experienced trauma and unimaginable things in their service to our communities"
"Behavioral health is deeply personal to people and very unique, so it's our responsibility to make sure we are offering a variety of resources to help people where they are," Hart said.
The 2,500-square-foot center was funded by $2.3 million in federal ARPA funds allocated by the Lake County Board to Nicasa, a behavioral health and social services organization that renovated, and will operate, the facility, according to CEO Bruce Johnson. The money will also help provide services to those without insurance, Johnson said.
Before a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Johnson spoke to a gathered crowd of officials, first responders and various area organization members who had helped make the facility a reality. The building was formerly owned by Dr. Jai J. Nho, who donated it after his retirement to the Round Lake Fire Protection District.
At first, there was uncertainty about how to utilize the building, Johnson said, until the news broke about a Lake County fire lieutenant who had taken his own life.
"At that point, we all knew there was a need," Johnson said.
The center will provide screenings, therapy groups and holistic wellness services.
"Our veterans, military service members and first responders, these are populations that are normally the most resistant to getting help and care," Johnson said. "Having a special place for them, with people that understand and can really grasp what they have gone through ... Frontline Care Center is a place that puts them first."
Lake County Board members threw their support behind the project. It was an especially personal goal for Esiah Campos, the only veteran on the board.
He talked about the challenges many veterans face trying to transition back to civilian life, even those who hadn't seen combat. Campos shared his own struggles, and the benefits of finding a therapist with a similar background who could uniquely understand him.
"There are scars that aren't visible," Campos said. "This center is really going to make a difference for all of the first responders here, as well as the military side."
Lisle Kauffman, a former pastor and chaplain at Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District, lauded the changing culture around mental health for first responders and veterans. A Korean War veteran himself, Kauffman said these groups have a tendency to disregard mental health challenges.
"If I have a broken leg and my bone is sticking through my skin ... I don't have to say, 'Should I go to the doctor?'" Kauffman said. "But if they have a chink in the psychological armor they say, 'I don't have to go to the doctor; I can do it myself.'"
Walking around his former building, Nho said he was "overwhelmed" by what the facility has become. He hopes it will serve as a wake-up call for some to seek help for mental health challenges.
"It's a great place," Nho said. "I hope the center will support the people who need help."