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Forest Park Board of Health recommends a mental-health resource hub and full-time social worker
Summary
The Board of Health presented a community assessment showing high self-reported anxiety and depression among survey respondents and recommended a resource hub, hiring a licensed clinical social worker, regional partnerships, recurring surveys, and more training for frontline civic staff.
Michelle O’Neil, chair of the Board of Health, introduced the board’s community assessment and recommendations to the Village Council of Forest Park. “My name is Michelle O'Neil, and I'm the chairperson of the board of health,” she said, noting the board formed in August 2023 to focus on residents’ mental-wellness needs.
Susan Buss summarized the assessment results: the board received 158 household survey responses (about 2.2% response rate) and conducted roundtable interviews with seven community providers. Buss reported elevated self-reported symptoms among respondents: “a 69 percent positive response” for anxiety and “56 percent” for depression, and she cautioned the sample skews — overrepresented by white seniors and insured residents and limited by an English-only outreach strategy.
Lindsey Bosch Flynn, a board member, presented five recommendations rooted in the findings: (1) create and maintain a comprehensive, regularly updated directory of mental-health resources; (2) invest in personnel — preferably a full-time licensed clinical social worker based at the community center to coordinate services and support first responders; (3) strengthen partnerships with neighboring communities; (4) repeat the mental-health survey and roundtables every two years; and (5) provide more training and support for frontline civic employees.
The board acknowledged the village’s constrained finances and described lower-cost short-term options such as expanding an existing library webpage or repurposing neighboring communities’ directories. Commissioners expressed support and asked about comparable programs; the board pointed to partnerships with Oak Park and DuPage County models and invited further collaboration. The board said it holds monthly meetings (first Wednesdays) and has started a low-cost speaker series at the library to reach residents.
Why it matters: the board’s recommendations offer a mix of low-cost actions and proposals that require funding; commissioners signaled willingness to keep the work active and explore partnerships and budget options that could make some recommendations actionable.
