Call it the little mental health center that could.
Hiawatha Valley Mental Health Center, which first opened its doors in September 1965 with two mental health care providers and a director, turns 50 this year. It will celebrate its anniversary with a public event June 18.
The center, a nonprofit since its inception, was founded when a group of concerned citizens saw a need for it in Winona and the surrounding counties. At the time, “mental retardation” was still common parlance, and Minnesota had just 23 mental health centers statewide.
Over the years, Hiawatha has grown to serve six mostly rural counties, supported by a staff of more than 100 therapists, case managers, and other specialists.
They have provided innumerable community-oriented services for individuals and groups, from alcohol education clinics at Winona State in the 1970s, to counseling in the wake of the 2007 flood, to professional training sessions, to residential programs for folks who need daily support.
But the center, while keeping pace with the constantly developing field of mental health care, has not lost sight of its original mission — providing services that are responsive to the needs of the community.
And that’s not just a nice sentiment. Hiawatha’s community focus has arguably been the reason for the center’s existence this long.
Daily News stories from 1965 report that Miller Friesen, the center’s founding program director, told supporters most mental health clinics fail because of lack of communication and lack of public support.
Friesen’s ambitious program was based on strengthening and coordinating community resources to better serve those with mental health issues. It would attempt to meet the needs of people, but it would also need the public’s support to do that.
After 50 years of growth and change, you could say Hiawatha has succeeded in its mission. But that’s not a reason to stop — it’s a reason to keep going.
The center today
Today, Hiawatha is bigger and able to offer more services than ever, organization outreach staff said.
Ashley Bauer and Tressa Reuter work as children’s mental health case managers and outreach representatives. They are both relatively new to the organization, and are enthusiastic about Hiawatha’s legacy and future.
Hiawatha now offers a wide range of children’s services, including a school-linked therapy program with 50 therapists serving 20 schools in Winona, Wabasha, and Houston counties. In the past six years, more than 600 kids and adolescents have accessed mental health services at schools through Hiawatha.
There are parent groups and grant-supported services for birth to age 5 that target the uninsured or underinsured. Another new program provides training and consultation to daycare providers, so that they can more confidently work with kids who have mental or behavioral health concerns.
The center’s five residential homes shelter around 50 people and provide daily living support to those who might struggle to live on their own. Bauer said it’s not uncommon to hear of a staff member staying late, customizing a program for a particular client, or spending their own money to make a client’s room feel more like home.
Another success for Hiawatha has been the peer support network. The network, or PSN as it’s called, has open hours seven days a week, serving as a staffed drop-in center for adults with mental health issues to come hang out with friends, share meals, and participate in classes. It’s a place for people to go during the day, Reuter explained, that gets them out of the house but in a safe, relaxed environment.
As Friesen predicted 50 years ago, Hiawatha has also built partnerships with agencies and organizations in the region, including county human services departments, other mental health centers, the Department of Corrections, the Family and Children’s Center, and others.
“We work really collaboratively with a lot of agencies in Winona and other communities as well,” Bauer said.
Reuter added that Hiawatha has always seen its role as one that works alongside other agencies and programs to fill gaps and meet needs, rather than compete.
Along the way, the organization has been active in advocating for funding and support of mental health statewide, and more recently, backing legislation to increase insurance coverage for mental health treatment.
Looking to the future
On a local level, Hiawatha has some new projects in the works.
Thanks to the leadership of director Julie Hanson, the organization plans to break ground this fall on the Hiawatha Bluffs Living Project, a 20-unit apartment building for folks with mental illness at risk for becoming homeless or who are already homeless.
Last October, the $4 million project received a $2.6 million deferred loan from the Minnesota Housing Board.
Another project, for which the state Legislature recently allocated $46 million, is aimed at strengthening mental health crisis services in rural areas statewide. Hiawatha, together with other agencies, is working on a mobile mental health crisis unit, which will work like a paramedic service, minus the ambulance.
Folks in crisis can reach out with a call, and a response team will be sent to their home to hopefully deescalate the situation and prevent a costly hospital stay. Bauer said this service will probably be rolled out this year.
Meanwhile, demand keeps growing for the center’s other services. New positions are opening up “all the time,” Reuter said, and opportunities for more partnerships. “We’re continually being approached by other agencies in the community.”
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