A new program aims to help librarians who are becoming part of society's safety net. (Getty Images)
Hoosiers suffering mental health crises are visiting public libraries for help — transforming the role of librarians who act simultaneously as researchers, archivists and quasi-social workers.
Mental Health America of Indiana is stepping in to train librarians in how to respond to these crises and direct patrons to reliable information on suicide prevention, addiction treatment and mental health disorders.
“We go to libraries to find information, and that information isn’t limited to just what might be in books, but it’s, ‘Tell me how I can find what I need to get my needs met,'” said Stephanie Anderson, chief operating officer of Mental Health America of Indiana. “More and more, those needs circle around mental illness and mental health needs.”
The organization will begin training librarians this year following a $50,000 grant from MolinaCares Accord and Molina Healthcare, in partnership with the Indiana Library Federation.
Todd Grooten, a licensed social worker and co-chair of the Indiana Library Federation’s mental health committee, welcomed the opportunity as library staff like himself increasingly encounter people in crisis seeking internet access and other resources from public libraries.
He attributed the trend to the decline of the social safety net.
Mental Health America of Indiana estimates one in five Hoosier adults are living with mental illness, amounting to 1.2 million Hoosiers each year. Meanwhile, the organization found there are three times as many libraries as there are hospitals.
“As both a librarian and licensed social worker, I see this partnership as essential because these situations are already happening and staff should not have to navigate them without support,” Grooten said in a statement to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
“Our collaboration with Mental Health America of Indiana builds on what libraries already do by giving staff practical tools to respond with awareness, confidence and compassion while connecting people to appropriate resources and reducing the risk of secondary trauma.”
A survey by the Indiana Library Federation’s mental health Taskforce found 46% of library workers reported calling emergency services to assist with a patient in crisis.
Seventy percent of library workers said they felt or witnessed a coworker experience secondary trauma in the workplace, while 85% of librarians reported witnessing patrons they believed were experiencing mental illness.
This can include homelessness, aggressive behavior and substance abuse, as well as other forms of mental illness.
A majority of librarians told the federation they were not well informed on mental health services available in their community — a problem as libraries become community hubs.
The objective is not to replace clinical staff with librarians, but rather to prepare library staff to answer patrons’ questions, Anderson said, and to know when to call 988 if a patron is in imminent risk of harm to themselves or others.
She said the subject came at the request of librarians who told Mental Health America of Indiana they didn’t know how to help patrons in these situations.
The organization will train cohorts of librarians from across the state each quarter through its Stanley W. DeKemper Training Institute, facilitated by the Indiana Library Federation.
The group will also host guided weekly support groups.
To Grooten, the pilot is a chance to show lawmakers “how critical these collaborations are, with the hope that it leads to sustained investment and expanded funding to support this work long term,” he said.
“We want people to know that this is one more space you can go and say, ‘Hey, where do I find information,” Anderson said, “and how do I get there safely?'”
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Courtesy of Indiana Capital Chronicle
