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Talk Line: Sinnisssippi Center's Andy Jackson talks mental health · WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio

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  Speaker 1: Good morning, Suck Valley. You're back with the Waking crew
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  Speaker 1: here on FM ninety five to one and AM fourteen
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  Speaker 1: sixty w I XN. It's eight fifteen on your Thursday morning,
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  Speaker 1: and you know what that means. It's time for talk
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  Speaker 1: line and I'm joined in the group group booth once
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  Speaker 1: again by my good friend Andy Jackson from Sinsissippi Centers. Andy,
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  Speaker 1: how are you? Oh?
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  Speaker 2: Good, good.
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  Speaker 1: We have a special silent observer here with us today.
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  Speaker 2: Uh huh, my assistant for the day.
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  Speaker 1: His assistant for the day. A little quiet. She can
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  Speaker 1: say hive shoe once. No, no, no, she's shy. That's okay,
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  Speaker 1: she's shy. I have my granddaughter with me today. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: very awesome.
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  Speaker 2: We did a fundraiser last night, so she worked a
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  Speaker 2: little light, so she stayed over. Oh it worked a
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  Speaker 2: little late.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, hey, assistant's got to work all hours when
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  Speaker 1: they're with you. So that's that's just how it goes.
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  Speaker 1: And you make sure you take care of yourself, young lady.
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  Speaker 1: International Self Care Day is tomorrow, so everybody needs to
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  Speaker 1: observe this absolutely.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Designated for July twenty fourth each year, and what
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  Speaker 2: it's for. It provides a focus opportunity to raise awareness
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  Speaker 2: about healthy lifestyle and self care like sleeping enough, I'm
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  Speaker 2: looking at her, you know, those kind of things. And
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  Speaker 2: it was first designated in twenty eleven by the International
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  Speaker 2: Self Care Foundation to promote self care as a kind
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  Speaker 2: of a vital foundation for health. Now that date seven
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  Speaker 2: twenty four symbolizes, you know, the benefits of self care
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  Speaker 2: are experienced twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.
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  Speaker 2: So I guess you could turn that around and say
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  Speaker 2: seven days a week, twenty four hours a day.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I mean it's self care is something that
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  Speaker 1: really can't take a day off when you need it.
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  Speaker 1: So I mean, at least we're going to designate one
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  Speaker 1: day because the American grind culture pretty much tries to
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  Speaker 1: tell you that you can't or that you shouldn't.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it can be yeah. We yeah, life as busy
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  Speaker 2: as we like to say, so sometimes, yeah, you got
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  Speaker 2: to stop and take care of yourself. And it doesn't
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  Speaker 2: mean in a self indulgence, are a self indulgent or
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  Speaker 2: selfish way. It just means taking care of yourself so
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  Speaker 2: that you can be healthy, do your job, be well,
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  Speaker 2: do all the things that you got to do to
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  Speaker 2: care for yourself, to care for others and anything else
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  Speaker 2: that you need to do that you have to accomplish
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  Speaker 2: in a day and be well.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and there's so many aspects to taking care of yourself, right,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, like people primarily want to think of their
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  Speaker 1: physical health right away. Sure, thankfully you know, Sinisippi Centers
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  Speaker 1: and just a lot of other organizations in general have
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  Speaker 1: done a great job at getting people to recognize that
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  Speaker 1: mental health is part of that. Sure, but just a
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  Speaker 1: really multifaceted thing when we're talking about self.
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  Speaker 2: Care, well it is, and in fact, the substance abuse
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  Speaker 2: in Mental Health Services administration has a nice flyer about
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  Speaker 2: the eight types or dimensions of wellness, and physical fitness
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  Speaker 2: and mental wellness are just two of those, and we
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  Speaker 2: need to pay attention to all of them. So there
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  Speaker 2: is the emotional or the mental wellness. Financial always a
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  Speaker 2: big one, right, Financially, our finances always impact our lives
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  Speaker 2: one way or the other. Social, so that's a sense
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  Speaker 2: of connection or belonging or support. Spiritual, not necessarily in
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  Speaker 2: a religious way, but some sort of sense of purpose. Occupational,
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  Speaker 2: so our job satisfaction, not just pay. By the way,
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  Speaker 2: pay is important, but there are other things we mentioned
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  Speaker 2: the physical, intellectual, You know, do you have an intellectual
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  Speaker 2: intellectually stimulating environment? Are you stimulating yourself intellectually? And environmental
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  Speaker 2: which is not as well defined. I don't know, but
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  Speaker 2: it's your personal environment. Is it pleasant, stimulating, supports well being?
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  Speaker 1: You know?
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  Speaker 2: Do you like how your house is set up? Do
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  Speaker 2: you like how your yard is? Is your work environment nice?
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  Speaker 2: Those kind of things. Do you like the city that
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  Speaker 2: you're living in? That's probably what the environmental one is.
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  Speaker 2: And so we got to take care of all of those.
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  Speaker 2: And one thing that is definitely true, we'll notice when
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  Speaker 2: we don't take care of one of those, at least
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  Speaker 2: at some point or another. Maybe not immediately, but a
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  Speaker 2: little bit down the road, we'll notice that something's off
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  Speaker 2: and that we need to take care of all of those.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, And you know, a lot of times, it can
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  Speaker 1: be really funny the way some of these things, if
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  Speaker 1: you really take a look at it, can be representative it.
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  Speaker 1: I can be sitting there and kind of grinding it
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  Speaker 1: out and going and going, and all the other aspects
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  Speaker 1: of my life. House starts to fall behind. I'm getting
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  Speaker 1: really kind of like my mental health goes down, right,
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  Speaker 1: I'm not quite relaxed when I'm home and then finally
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  Speaker 1: go through you clean everything, and so many people think like, oh,
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  Speaker 1: cleaning man, how's that relaxing? But when you're done, you
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  Speaker 1: feel good. Zen, everything's clear, and it's like, all right,
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  Speaker 1: one more aspect is now clear. I've checked off that box.
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  Speaker 1: Then of course usually everything else might take a little
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  Speaker 1: bit more work and respect, but it's a good place
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  Speaker 1: to start.
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  Speaker 2: You mean, while you're cleaning inside, the grass is growing
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  Speaker 2: outside and you need to mow it. Yeah, especially this time.
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  Speaker 2: Well it's been a little dry bed this time of year.
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  Speaker 2: Usually the joe for me as I'm mowing every two
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  Speaker 2: or three days, but maybe not quite that often, but.
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  Speaker 1: I pay a kid to mowent.
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  Speaker 2: There you go, There you go. The one way to
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  Speaker 2: take care of it?
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  Speaker 1: Oh, absolutely, yeah. Any any tips they put out there
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  Speaker 1: for this that that people can take, maybe something like,
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  Speaker 1: you know, a simple approach.
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  Speaker 2: I think there's a lot if you just search wellness.
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  Speaker 2: I think there's there's just a wealth of advice. But
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  Speaker 2: I think that one where if you go to the
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  Speaker 2: eight diment, if you should be able to find it.
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  Speaker 2: I haven't done that for a while, but if you
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  Speaker 2: just search up eight dimensions of wellness. I bet you
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  Speaker 2: that Sam's apiece will come up, the substance abuse Mental
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  Speaker 2: Health Services Administration piece. And I think, like I said,
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  Speaker 2: paying paying attention to all of those and just and
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  Speaker 2: then also just keeping in mind self care is important
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  Speaker 2: because it helps us stay physically, mentally, emotionally well. That
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  Speaker 2: that that what that is, what all wellness is. Our
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  Speaker 2: overall wellness helps us perform our best supports our overall
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  Speaker 2: well being obviously helps us with self confidence. Self esteem
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  Speaker 2: makes us more aware of our personal needs so that
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  Speaker 2: then we keep taking care of those, and then it
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  Speaker 2: gives us our resiliency. So life loves to throw us curveballs,
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  Speaker 2: and that resiliency is what helps us deal with those
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  Speaker 2: in life, so it helps with that as well. So
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  Speaker 2: I think, just just pay attention to all those as
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  Speaker 2: best we can. We're human beings. Obviously we're never going
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  Speaker 2: to be perfect about it. But just pay attention to
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  Speaker 2: those eight dimensions of wellness, and I think you'll notice
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  Speaker 2: the difference if you haven't been and if you're on
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  Speaker 2: it and you slip, you'll notice that you didn't. But
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  Speaker 2: don't worry about slipping, because it happens and just get
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  Speaker 2: back on, get back on and track, and you'll be fine.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I like that you brought up resiliency.
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  Speaker 1: I I think we're I love the way we've gone
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  Speaker 1: in society, but I think sometimes we've looked. So we've
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  Speaker 1: looked to to how can we make things easier in life?
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  Speaker 1: Right with our technology and everything, how can we make
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  Speaker 1: things easier? Which is great, but sometimes we get this
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  Speaker 1: wrong attitude about doing the hard work, doing the things
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  Speaker 1: we need to, whether that's to self respect, with what's
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  Speaker 1: going going on in your mental health, sure, maybe cleaning
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  Speaker 1: up your space, seeing those things that you know you
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  Speaker 1: should be taken care of and they're kind of bothering
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  Speaker 1: and you wonder what's going on, and you got to
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  Speaker 1: take care of it. And it's doing these things and
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  Speaker 1: doing those works that builds up that resiliency, because, like
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  Speaker 1: you said, life throws you curveballs.
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  Speaker 2: It does.
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  Speaker 1: It will never stop. Like you will drive yourself mad
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  Speaker 1: if you can't make peace with the fact that these
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  Speaker 1: things will happen from time to time. So the best
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  Speaker 1: thing you can do is to be a prepared human
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  Speaker 1: being and build up that resiliency so when that curveball comes,
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  Speaker 1: you can just knock it out.
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  Speaker 2: Of the park exactly. I don't think I could have
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  Speaker 2: said that better, so I won't say anymore. I'll just
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  Speaker 2: have to agree with that.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, last time you were here, we were
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  Speaker 1: just shy of a big anniversary for Sinissippi Centers.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was, Well, we're in July, so Sinissippi. May
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  Speaker 2: thirty first, nineteen sixty six, Sinsippi came into being as
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  Speaker 2: an organization. But the next big milestone, I suppose you
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  Speaker 2: could say it was bigger, though, but you could argue
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  Speaker 2: that either way. It was July first of nineteen sixty
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  Speaker 2: six that we actually began offering services. So I don't
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  Speaker 2: believe we have any information to dig back in the
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  Speaker 2: past of why that delay was, but I can only
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  Speaker 2: imagine it's the same as it is today. If you're
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  Speaker 2: offering a new service, there's a certification process and those
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  Speaker 2: kind of things to be done. So I imagine between
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  Speaker 2: May thirty first and July first, there was that process
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  Speaker 2: going on. So July first, we started offering services to
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  Speaker 2: residents in Carall, Lee, Ogel, and Whiteside counties. That was
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  Speaker 2: from the very beginning in nineteen sixty six, and we
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  Speaker 2: did that from two offices, one in Dixon and one
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  Speaker 2: in Sterling. In the office. The building that we used
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  Speaker 2: in Dixon is still on Gilda Avenue. I believe it's
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  Speaker 2: referred back to a house, So it was a two
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  Speaker 2: story home then and probably is now. And then a
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  Speaker 2: little while after as when we went out to what
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  Speaker 2: we call our Route two location, which is in between
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  Speaker 2: Dixon and Sterling. So we founded as sinesipa mental health
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  Speaker 2: center because that reflected we were focusing first just on
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  Speaker 2: mental health, but obviously through the years we've expanded the services,
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  Speaker 2: so we changed the name to Ssissippi Centers to reflect
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  Speaker 2: that it's not just mental health, but substance use treatment,
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  Speaker 2: early childhood mental health. We have a Healthy Families program,
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  Speaker 2: we have peer support programs, we have residential apartments for
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  Speaker 2: those with a serious mental illness. We have recovery homes
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  Speaker 2: or sometimes people call them sober homes, just a wide
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  Speaker 2: variety that have grown from that beginning in nineteen sixty six.
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  Speaker 2: So first year we had seven hundred and eighty nine clients.
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  Speaker 2: This year we're preparing the this previous fiscal years annual report,
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  Speaker 2: but it's going to be not over nine thousand, maybe
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  Speaker 2: possibly even ten thousand clients that we've served.
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  Speaker 1: Wow.
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  Speaker 2: We did add the office in Freeport, which has now
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  Speaker 2: been long enough that I don't remember exactly the number
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  Speaker 2: of years, but it feels like it's been fought. Maybe
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  Speaker 2: it's been as many as five years that we've had
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  Speaker 2: the Freeport office. So we've added Stevenson County to that
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  Speaker 2: over that time too, So we have seven office and
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  Speaker 2: we've added a Byron office a little over a year ago.
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  Speaker 2: So seven offices in five counties and staff of over
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  Speaker 2: three hundred. Whereas when I joined the agency in two
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  Speaker 2: thousand and six, it was hovering right around one fifty
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  Speaker 2: almost steadily through that entire time. But when COVID hit,
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  Speaker 2: you know, the demand increased for mental health services, and
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  Speaker 2: we grew during that time. And so we have what
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  Speaker 2: was the number, I think they said three hundred and
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  Speaker 2: thirty potentially employees talking with HR the other day, So
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  Speaker 2: definitely definitely have grown over the years.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, is there anywhere maybe next on you guys' list,
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  Speaker 1: not not to say that it's a plan, but that
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  Speaker 1: you guys would like to see Sinissippi expand to.
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  Speaker 2: I haven't heard us talk about it recently because I
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  Speaker 2: think it was it was. It was a difficult process
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  Speaker 2: just getting a recovery home. But I know that in
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  Speaker 2: patient substance use treatment is in need, but it's very difficult,
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  Speaker 2: I think, to pull off in a rural area of
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  Speaker 2: our size, even though we have a decent if you
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  Speaker 2: add up the population between just Lee and Whiteside County,
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  Speaker 2: we have a decent population. It's a smaller to medium
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  Speaker 2: sized city for Illinois, but I think that's one you
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  Speaker 2: have to go to a larger city for that. And
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  Speaker 2: I suppose impatient some inpatient mental health, but they're again
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  Speaker 2: the same challenges to try to pull that off. So
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  Speaker 2: those are probably some needs that I don't know that
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  Speaker 2: we'll ever see here in a Dixon or in a
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  Speaker 2: Stirling or in a rock Falls or anything like that.
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  Speaker 2: Certainly certainly in mind. But expansion of our office in
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  Speaker 2: Carroll County Mount Carroll, even though it's the least populated county,
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  Speaker 2: there's still increased demand for that. We need more space.
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  Speaker 2: So that's one of the projects. It's kind of on
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  Speaker 2: the drawing board and trying to advance.
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  Speaker 1: So very cool. I know that you guys aren't going
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  Speaker 1: to stop advancing, so that's why I just had to
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  Speaker 1: ask that question, because I'm like sure that kind of
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  Speaker 1: a growth doesn't stop it. It may take longer after
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  Speaker 1: me and you have left the helms of our ships,
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  Speaker 1: but I'm certain it'll keep expanding.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, working on becoming so we have a certified community
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  Speaker 2: behavioral health clinic status for Dixon office and our offices
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  Speaker 2: within that four county region. Freeport was a different region
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  Speaker 2: for the federal government. So working on that so that
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  Speaker 2: we'll be a certified in that certified community behavior health
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  Speaker 2: clinic for all of our offices. So that's one of
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  Speaker 2: the things that's happening. That funding is more stable and
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  Speaker 2: it's a little bit more funding, it makes it easier
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  Speaker 2: to provide those services. In that way. State funding still
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  Speaker 2: tends to lag behind the demand unfortunately, so it kind
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  Speaker 2: of always always has and at times has been. Twenty
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  Speaker 2: ten was a very rough year because we were looking
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  Speaker 2: at some significant state cuts. I think it's been better
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  Speaker 2: since twenty ten and recently, but still the state funding
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  Speaker 2: is an issue and having to go to more like
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  Speaker 2: like a federal federal funding from the CCBHC perspective is
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  Speaker 2: going to help agencies, not just Sinisippi Centers, but agencies
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  Speaker 2: like Sennicippi Centers across the state, and I assume in
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  Speaker 2: other states as well, but I really focus on knowing
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  Speaker 2: what we're doing in terms of Illinois.
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  Speaker 1: So well, I'm looking forward to seeing how things progress.
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  Speaker 1: I'd love to keep going, Andy, but your assistant is
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  Speaker 1: giving me the sign that you're about at a time
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  Speaker 1: and you've got to go on to your next uport.
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  Speaker 2: She's got to run my day.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. She seems like a tough cookie, and I don't
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  Speaker 1: want to argue with her, so before we leave. She
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: runs a tight ship, I gotta imagine. So if anybody
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  Speaker 1: wants any more information on anything we've talked, oh the
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: looks she's goiven us or anything that Sinsissippi Centers offers.
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  Speaker 1: Where can they get that? Andy?
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  Speaker 2: Sensipi dot org is the website, so there's a wealth
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  Speaker 2: of information on there, and so Sennicipi dot org you
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: can call us.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: Now.
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: Normally the number would be eight one five two, eight
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  Speaker 2: four six. Not sure the status of that. We're still
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: having problem with that main number, but there's a slide
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  Speaker 2: on the website that will give you an alternate number
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: to get in touch with the Dixon Office. But we
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: also you can get in touch with any other office
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  Speaker 2: that we have numbers listed for, so you could go
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: to the contact us page, I'm sorry, the locations page
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  Speaker 2: and see all of our offices. If you are trying
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: to call the Dixon Office, be advice. We're still having problems.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know why, what the issue is or it's
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: been a long it's kind of been a long process
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: to try to get that working again. That two eight
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  Speaker 2: four sixty sixty one one number, So just use the
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: alternate number that's on the slide on the main page
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: of the website to get through to the Dixon Office
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: if you need the Dixon Office. Otherwise, the other offices
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: on the contact there I go again. Locations page it
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: used to be on the contact on the locations page
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: are all accurate and you can get through. Then there's
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: hours there for all of our offices and things like that.
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  Speaker 2: We have a great links page that you can check out.
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  Speaker 2: You can link to our social media there and all
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: kinds of things. So that's sosib dot org is a
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: great place to start.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: There you go, folks, check it out. Thank you both
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: so much for are coming in this morning.