Mental health issues affect 1 in 4 individuals each year, but just 16% seek treatment. One barrier is cost. In a down economy, the number of people in need goes up, and the number who can afford it shrinks. A new pro bono counseling program links volunteer mental health professionals with those in need in Central Ohio. Featured are Mental Health America of Franklin County (MHAFC) Executive Director Laura Moskow Sigal, Pro Bono Counseling Program Director Jennifer Martinez, and Physicians Free Clinic Volunteer Services Director Isi Ikharebha. Laura Moskow Sigal is the Executive Director of Mental Health America of Franklin County (MHAFC) the organization behind the new program. Laura is a licensed social worker and adjunct faculty at The Ohio State University. Sheâs the recipient of many awards for her work in the mental health field from NAMI Ohio, Jewish Family Services, and ADAMH. Jennifer Martinez is Mental Health America of Franklin Countyâs (MHAFC) Pro Bono Counseling Program Director. She is a licensed independent social worker and serves as the liaison to the Ohioâs psychiatric hospital system. Isimeme Ikharehba is the Director of the Physicians Free Clinic/Voluntary Care Network, which is an affiliate of the Columbus Medical Association. She coordinates charitable health care services of doctors and hospitals in Central Ohio and reports the value of the network to the community, through outcomes measurements and evaluations.
Also on this episode:
The Columbus Development Commission recently approved the rezoning of Cooper Stadium for a racetrack and an automotive research facility. Weâll talk with Columbus Dispatch Reporter Mark Ferenchik about continuing community opposition and the next steps to gain approval. Coleman wonât support racetrack until noise is addressed (Dispatch 2/18/11)
Mayor Michael B. Coleman said he is withholding support for the new Cooper Park racetrack because the developer hasn't done enough to address the noise concerns of nearby neighborhoods, especially Franklinton. Arshot officials said they are eager to meet with the mayor. The developer is spending more than $5 million on state-of-the-art, 35-foot sound walls, they said. And it said it would pay fines of up to $20,000 into a community foundation that would pay for scholarships and public improvements if the noise violated city standards, according to a good-neighbor agreement that Arshot's William J. Schottenstein agreed to last week.