NAMI Grand Traverse updates board on ARPA-funded services and urges regional mental-health campus

Kate Dahlstrom, president of the NAMI Grand Traverse board, and crisis navigator Jesse Perez updated the county on how ARPA funds have supported local mental-health navigation, support groups and school outreach programs. Perez described the navigator role as a "warm line" that connects families and individuals to resources, helps with pickup orders and temporary guardianship processes, and triages crisis calls for referrals to inpatient or residential care when available.

Dahlstrom summarized NAMI’s five core services—support groups, classes, ending-the-silence school presentations, navigation, and legislative advocacy—and said the affiliate is implementing pilot programs such as NAMI in the workplace and a planned NAMI on Campus partnership with Northwestern Michigan College. “We never say no,” Perez said of the navigator work, describing multiple cases this summer where families required extensive hands-on assistance.

Dahlstrom also discussed a regional planning effort and business case recommending a Northern Michigan mental-health campus that would include inpatient psychiatric, residential and step-down beds. The business plan cited a range of options and estimated a local pilot could be delivered for about $24,000,000; Dahlstrom said a related state request seeks $35,000,000 for a 50-bed program for justice-involved youth. She described the continuing shortage of inpatient beds in Northern Michigan, noting the region presently lacks beds for children and that some patients are discharged from inpatient care without adequate step-down services.

NAMI reported a remaining ARPA balance of $96,042 and said it would request half of that balance by year-end for ongoing programming; the group also submitted a reimbursement request this month. Commissioners thanked NAMI for the work and asked the presenters to share the business-plan report with county administration and staff for further review.

The board did not make a funding commitment during the meeting; Dahlstrom said the group is working with regional legislators and a state subcommittee and will return with further detail as proposals and funding requests are refined.