I’ve seen a lot in my media career. I worked in radio broadcasting—many of those years as a news reporter—for 14 years before changing careers in 1983 to become a civil servant. After retiring, I started this volunteer news blog in 2012.
Over the years, I’ve covered many mayors. A familiar cycle often played out: a mayor would identify a problem, form a commission or task force to study it, release a report at a news conference, declare victory—and then move on to the next issue.
But Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness has broken that cycle.
Even before taking office, as mayor-elect, he spoke with me about the urgent need to address mental health in our community. During his time as town manager, Fadness joined police on ride-alongs and witnessed firsthand the mental health struggles officers encountered—cases where it was clear mental illness played a role, yet police had limited tools to respond meaningfully.
One of his first actions after being sworn in as Fishers’ inaugural mayor in 2015 was to create a committee to study mental health and explore solutions. But unlike many public officials I’ve watched over the years, Fadness didn’t just issue a report and move on. He has maintained a sustained focus on mental health for his entire decade in office.
That commitment was evident again Thursday morning at City Hall, where the Fishers Health Department hosted a Mental Health Breakfast. City Social Worker Brittany Cheviron-Smith shared sobering statistics on the state of mental health—both nationally and locally.
“It’s a little bit of a grim picture,” Cheviron-Smith told the crowd. “People are really struggling. We know that mental health is on the decline across the board.”
She cited a 70% increase in emergency room visits for mental health reasons over the past eight years. These visits often involve substance abuse, overdose, depression, and anxiety. Alarming, too, is the fact that ER visits for suicide-related issues have doubled in that same time period.
“Today, 1 in 5 adults in the United States, in any given year, can be diagnosed with a mental health disorder,” she said. “Youths are struggling too.” Local data, she added, mirrors these national trends.
Leaders from several city departments also spoke, sharing how their offices address mental health. Attendees, seated in small groups, were asked to identify both problems and potential solutions. The recurring theme: collaboration. There was strong support for the city to work in tandem with nonprofits and other community partners. One speaker suggested engaging retired health professionals who now live in Fishers.
Mayor Fadness closed the event with what he called a sense of “righteous indignation.” After listing several of the city’s major accomplishments under his leadership, he voiced deep concern that even one person in Fishers might be living in “quiet despair.”
Ten years into this effort, the mayor knows the fight for mental health solutions is far from over. But one thing is clear—Scott Fadness won’t be declaring victory and walking away.
And for that, our mayor deserves credit.
