Fewer Manchester residents are receiving Community Mental Health help than most of Washtenaw. Why?
Washtenaw County Community Mental Health continues to offer monthly mental health first aid trainings free to anyone in the county.
by Sara Swanson
In October, Washtenaw County Community Mental Health (WCCMH) publicized their 2024 Millage impact report. The report states that since 2018 — the year before millage funds were first available — WCCMH has increased its service capacity by 230% and that “through the crisis line, telehealth, and face-to-face services, millage funds help individuals in urban and rural locations, with limited transportation options, and of all ages receive the care they need.” However, the report breaks the county down by areas and while the Manchester area makes up 2.5% of the population of the county, only 1% of the individuals helped by WCCMH were Manchester-area residents. As the Manchester area has the highest suicide rate in the county, we know there is a need for mental health help in our corner of the county, so what is the disconnect?
Lisa Gentz, program administrator for millage services at WCCMH, believes that fewer Manchester-area residents are helped proportionally because fewer individuals are reaching out from the Manchester area, rather than those reaching out being unable to receive help because of geographic distance, citing telehealth and in-home support as options. She did add that the numbers of individuals helped from Manchester has grown every year, which she finds encouraging.
Geography, if not preventing WCCMH from providing help, does present real challenges in our community and may be contributing to lower numbers of individuals reaching out. In talking to Manchester-area residents, several points were raised related to our location, including that even though we now have WAVE providing inexpensive door-to-door transportation services, rides have to be coordinated ahead of time and WAVE is unable to fulfill every request. And although WCCMH does offer telehealth and in-home services, despite the huge leaps forward in bringing high-speed internet to the rural parts of the county, not everyone has access yet, and even if they do, not everyone has the devices or technological know-how for online appointments. Likewise, to get to the point to potentially access in-home services, logistical hurdles of navigating the system can be significant for an individual experiencing mental health issues.
Other possible contributors to the disconnect were raised by residents, including the possibility of more pronounced stigma in our smaller, rural community around mental health services than in more urban or anonymous settings; that one negative experience has the ability to circulate through the community and shape perceptions; and a lack of awareness of WCCMH as a resource.
Manchester Community Resource Center, the organization many Manchester-area residents turn to when they need help is one source of referrals to WCCMH. They stated, “Mental health needs often emerge for us in the context of addressing other issues — food insecurity, housing instability, utility shutoffs. We provide the CMH contact information when appropriate, though we don’t have data on follow-through rates.”
When asked if WCCMH is doing anything to target the Manchester area specifically in light of the suicide rate, Gentz stated that most of their efforts continue to be county wide, including offering monthly mental health first aid trainings free to anyone in the county. She added that based on their data, their efforts are reaching the Manchester community. She also cited efforts by the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation in addressing mental health in our region to increase awareness, increase access, and decrease social isolation.
Chelsea Hospital behavioral health navigators
Headquartered in Chelsea, the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation serves Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester, and Stockbridge, and is much closer, geographically, than WCCMH is. These communities are also served by Chelsea Hospital, who some Manchester-area residents opt to turn to for mental health help.
Chelsea Hospital employs two behavioral health navigators, Kathy Walz and Anna Webber, who can help anyone connect with services based on their needs for free. They are able to come to Manchester to meet with residents in person, help them understand what kind of behavioral health care they need, find and get connected to resources, and problem-solve issues that may be getting in the way of them getting the care they need.
The Manchester Community Resource Center works regularly with Walz, who sometimes meets with residents at the Community Resource Center as she provides an immediate and accessible entry point for individuals needing mental health help and can help navigate WCCMH services. Walz stated, “We work closely with community partners to try and ensure people get the mental health support they need … we often work together with Washtenaw County CMH to get individuals and families support.”
Geography?
While many factors may be at work in keeping Manchester-area residents from receiving a proportional amount of services from WCCMH, geography does appear to be a factor, which becomes apparent when looking at the other areas of the county. Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, which make up 76% of the population of the county, receive 86% of services (with Ypsi receiving a significantly larger percentage). Moving farther away from WCCMH, the Saline area making up 3% of the county’s population is receiving 4% of services, and the Chelsea area making up 3.4% of the population is receiving 3% of the services. The remaining three areas are the three other corners of the county. The northeast corner of the county called the Whitmore Lake area on the map makes up 4.1% of the population and received 2% of the services; the northwest corner of the county called the Dexter area on the map makes up 4.2% of the county’s population and received 2% of the services; and the southeast corner of the county called the Milan area on the map makes up 5.1% of the population and received 2% of the services. This makes the Milan area the only area of the county whose residents are receiving fewer services based on population than the Manchester area, although not by much.
Percentage of all individuals helped by Washtenaw County Community Mental Health in 2024, and actual number of individuals helped in 2024 in parentheses by area of county. From WCCMH 2024 Millage impact report.
Klager Elementary School mental health awareness grant
Gentz added that separate from 54 Manchester-area individuals helped last year and the county-wide suicide prevention efforts, WCCMH does currently have one Manchester-specific intervention — they approved a mini grant for a mental health awareness campaign in Luther C. Klager Elementary School.
Elizabeth Caron, student support coordinator at Klager, explained that the school applied for the 2025–2026 Mental Health Mini Grant from WCCMH and was awarded $2,500, which will be used to equip every classroom at Klager Elementary School with a comprehensive Zones of Regulation classroom kit, and that the goal of the kits is to empower students to understand, express, and manage their emotions independently.
She stated, “We hope to use these kits to create consistent, accessible support systems across all learning spaces where students can identify how they’re feeling and access research-based strategies to self-regulate throughout their school day. Additionally, we will use a portion of the funds to host a Zones of Regulation Celebration Lunch with the principal. This lunch will be intentionally designed to amplify voices that are often unheard in traditional mental health programming.”
Rather than defaulting to students who are already outspoken or high-achieving, they will specifically invite a diverse group of students who represent the full spectrum of the school community, including new students, students of color, shy or introverted students, and students from low-income families. Caron concluded, “Students will be able to share their ideas, thoughts, and feelings with the principal. The hope with this lunch is for students to build positive connections with another adult in the building and practice sharing emotions and feelings in a positive and safe manner.”
Looking for mental health help? Anyone in Washtenaw County can call Community Mental Health 24/7 with any mental health questions or concerns: 734-544-3050. In the Manchester area you can also call Chelsea Hospital behavioral health navigators Kathy Walz, LMSW, CPC at 734-680-5312 or Anna Webber, LMSW at 734-904-6937. If you feel suicidal, call 988, text 988, or visit https://988lifeline.org/chat/ for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also text HELLO to 741741 (Crisis Text Line). If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911.
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