When Scott Fadness assumed his post as the first mayor of Fishers this year, one of the issues at the top of his priority list was to deal with mental health issues.  As his Mental Health Task Force moves closer to a set of actions to be taken, the mayor reminded the group at the August 27th meeting why their work is so important.

In the last 2 weeks, the mayor said 5-7 people attempted suicide in Fishers, with about half those cases involving juveniles. The task force is working on how to intervene at an early stage and prevent suicides and other issues arising from the lack of mental health services.

The group is made up, in part, of city officials, city public safety leaders, local school representatives private foundations and private sector health providers.   The members of this panel have been putting their heads together with regular meetings throughout 2015.

The task force reviewed the many recommendations for action contained in their preliminary findings.  Fishers residents should expect to see an announcement of the recommended actions by the task force in 4-6 weeks.

Bringing such a large and diverse group of people from throughout the Fishers community is quite an accomplishment for Mayor Fadness.  He clearly believes directly addressing mental health in Fishers will make this a better community for all of us.  Let’s see what the final document recommends and what actions are taken as a result of this effort.