Turning Point Turns Heads With Recent Expansion
Turning Point Behavioral Health Care in Skokie was recently awarded a $1.2 million grant for land and service expansion. On Friday, the group hosted a packed house which included several local politicians and community leaders.
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Turning Point hosted a packed house to celebrate their recent expansion on Friday afternoon. More than a hundred residents, politicians and local officials were present to applaud the organizations efforts and recent funding.
Turning Point Behavioral Health Care Center provides mental health services, especially to those with low income or people who are uninsured. The group served more than 1,500 clients in 2011 and of those, 85 percent had incomes at or below federal poverty guidelines.
On Friday however, CEO Ann Fisher Raney hosted a luncheon for more than 100 community members to celebrate the awarding of a $1.2 million grant from the North Suburban Healthcare Foundation.
"You have some very hard working people here," said Illinois Senator Ira Silverstein (D-8th). "I've never seen so many people committed to get this done.
State representative Daniel Biss echoed Silverstein's words.
"I know the establishment will help serve our constituents," Biss said regarding Turning Point's expansion. "The entire Turning Point family are expert teachers in mental health.
"Though we've made tremendous progress in the mental health field, we still have a lot to do," Biss added. "Today was a celebration of doing more with less. It's a real inspiration to watch this development."
The event was held in the building adjacent to Turning Point's current space at 8324 Skokie Blvd. With the new grant, Turning Point can now double its office space to about 40,000 square feet without incurring any new debt, something vital for an organization that helps so many low income clients.
"Our staff is dedicated to providing compassionate, respectful and cost-effective solutions to our clients and community we serve," Raney said. "We are grateful for this grant which allows us to pursue our big dream of building a learning and service community of like-mined providers.
Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen was equally excited about the expansion.
"We are proud to have this recognized leader in the behavioral health care field headquartered in Skokie," Van Dusen said. "I expect their pioneering efforts in the area of integrative health care to bring greater public awareness of the importance of comprehensive health services."
So what exactly does Turning Point do for the community?
Established in 1969, Turning Point provides mental health services for all ages, including individual, family and group therapy, as well as psychiatric evaluation, medication monitoring, case management and 24/7 crisis response.
In the Spring of 2012, the DePaul University School of Nursing chose Turning Point as a site for qualitative study of alternative environments to emergency room care.
The clinic serves residents from Skokie, Evanston, Chicago, Des Plaines, Glenview, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Park Ridge and Wilmette.
DeJohnna L.
3:14 pm on Thursday, December 13, 2012
They expanded?! We have been trying to get my nephew in here for over a year, only to be told each time there is a 4-6 month waiting list and then two days before our (long awaited) appointment were told the therapist "left" and nephew had to be put on the waiting list all over again. This is a very troubled kid who we begged and bribed to go, and after every meltdown and upsetting event, we'd call Turning Point only to be told "we can't do anything, you have to wait, call 911". My neighbor went to TP for 3 years every 2 weeks only to sit and talk AT some barely-trained stump of a person who would naver comment (it turns out neighbor had very severe bipoal depression, something the shrink at TP seemed to ooverworked to deal with properly). Turning Point hits me as simply a babysitting service for those that they can get Medicare and Medicaid money out of. Now they expanded? So why is it impossible to get an appointment with these people and why don't they run it like an actual, serious, legit mental health/therapy/ facility?