There’s a new mental health center located inside the Islamic Center of Detroit.

ICD held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday for its faith-based My Mental Wellness center, which is open to all.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

It’s believed to be the first mental health center inside a mosque in the U.S. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says ICD has come a long way from its humble beginnings.

“ICD is now the center of this community, and I’ve been here for food programs. I’ve been here for youth programs, been here for recreation programs, and now opening of a mental health clinic is going to serve the whole community,” he said. “It’s just a terrific day for Detroit.”

The clinic provides free on-site and virtual therapy and counseling sessions, as well as ASL services, career coaching, annual health fairs, and initiatives for the special needs community.

My Mental Wellness has served 200 people so far. ICD hopes to add additional health care services for the community in the near future.

For more information, visit mymentalwellnessicd.org.

Reporting by Nargis Rahman, WDET

Other headlines for Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024:

• Detroit is looking for a new top cop. Police Chief James White is set to become the CEO and president of the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network after the group’s board of directors voted to appoint him to the role at their meeting on Wednesday.
• The Michigan Education Justice Coalition Youth Collective is hosting its second virtual statewide candidate forum on Monday, Oct. 21, called Student Strong.
• Six local Black tech founders have been awarded a total of $120,000 in grants from the “Community Regrant” program from Black Tech Saturdays and Rocket Community Fund. Each recipient received $20,000 for projects that will help bridge the digital divide in the city of Detroit.
• The Wayne County Treasurer’s Office and the city of Detroit are hosting a foreclosure prevention seminar for seniors and individuals with disabilities on Saturday, Oct. 26, at Perfecting Church, 7616 Nevada Ave., Detroit. Call 313-244-0274 to schedule an appointment and Lyft Service to the event. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Over the past few years, the number of 911 calls involving individuals struggling with mental illness has increased in Detroit.  

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

The number of mental health care workers responding to those calls has increased, as well. Those mental health care responders more frequently enter crisis situations along with police officers in Detroit and around the state. But there are also officials who respond to those situations without police officers at all.  

The Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network (DWIHN) established a mobile crisis service last year to provide immediate care to people in need of help. Today, the organization is operating its mobile crisis service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  

To discuss this, DWIHN’s Mobile Crisis Director JaKeya Kellom and Public Affairs Manager Michael McElrath joined The Metro on Wednesday. Kellom says calls to DWIHN’s crisis services have increased from 30 in December to 141 in the month of July.

“I think sometimes when you see an increase in numbers you may think, ‘well is that a good thing, is that a bad thing?’ But for us it’s a good thing because that lets us know there are individuals learning how to use our service, and knowing that it’s available,” Kellom said.

Use the media player above to listen to the full interview with Kellom and McElrath.

More headlines from The Metro on Aug. 28, 2024: 

• Only 45% of Michigan’s Class of 2024 seniors completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, according to the Michigan FAFSA Tracker. Jill Marecki, director of the nonprofit Detroit Regional Dollars for Scholars, joined the show to discuss the organization’s scholarship program and an award from the Educational Credit Management Corporation to help students sign up for FAFSA.
• For football fans, it’s an exciting time as we’re getting closer to the kickoff of the NFL season. So close in fact, NFL teams just made their final roster decisions on Tuesday. Justin Rogers, founder of the Detroit Football Network joined The Metro to discuss what we can expect this season.
• Detroit’s District 7 City Council Member Fred Durhal joined the show to discuss the recent opening of the new Tireman-Minock Park, as well as the Motor City Match program to help local entrepreneurs.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.