NAMHC is made up of community mental health stakeholders who share knowledge, abilities, and resources to identify and address the gaps the mentally ill and their families face in gaining access to the care and services they deserve.
In 2015, St. Vincent de Paul’s (SVdP) Voice of the Poor Committee formed the North Alabama Mental Health Coalition (NAMHC) for the purpose of improving the plight of the seriously mentally ill, many of whom are homeless or in jail.
We work to help the people providing services connect with the people who need them.
- Instrumental in making great strides to mental health in North Alabama. In addition to getting the County and City to each fund a mental health case worker for the Madison County Jail, SVdP/NAMHC with the help of a grant from the Lowe Foundation, opened a 10-bed Jail Diversion Unit. The Jail Diversion Program identifies detainees who are eligible for release, either under supervision or directly to the community, who have continuing mental health care needs.
- Works to reduce the recidivism rate many mental health consumers experience due to the inability to access the continuum of care, post incarceration.
- Case managers are assigned to inmates based upon input from Community Corrections, the Madison County Jail, the Huntsville Police Chief, the Madison County Sheriff, the Huntsville Municipal Judge, and the Madison County Circuit Judge.
- In October 2018, the Huntsville Police Department received a grant from the Bureau of Justice Association/Valor Program, one of only four such grants awarded in the Nation, for training of police officers in Crisis Intervention (CIT). Over 50 officers have been trained, and the program continues to expand. CIT officers are already making a difference in the care and treatment of the seriously mentally ill. NAMHC is very proud and thankful for the partnership we have with our local law enforcement.
- On October 29, 2020, Governor Kay Ivey announced that Huntsville was awarded one of only three new Crisis Centers in the State of Alabama. This is a major achievement that we all have worked for over the last several years.
- Wellstone, formerly Madison County Mental Health Center, will operates the center. The Crisis Center has have a total of 39 beds, and a tele-health triage unit staffed 24/7 to handle calls from law enforcement, hospitals, etc. Many thanks to Wellstone’s CEO Jeremy Blair and his staff for putting together the proposal to the State that won Huntsville the place for a Crisis Center.
The History of NAMHC is made up of so many in our community that have, and are, making a difference. We continue to meet, identify gaps in the system, and work towards solutions.