Comprehensive Care in Southwest Detroit Includes Robust Behavioral Health at CHASS

The Community Health and Social Services Center (CHASS) in Southwest Detroit promotes and provides comprehensive and affordable health care — including behavioral health — with an emphasis on the underserved Black and Latino population.

Unlike in a traditional primary care experience where clients would be referred out for therapy for mental and behavioral health, CHASS provides services in one location, breaking down the barrier to receiving support.

“We work off an integrated health care model, offering a one-stop-shop that reduces barriers to care, which includes transportation, stigma, costs and a variety of other things,” says Daniela Lopez, behavioral health specialist with CHASS.

With a team of five full-time clinicians, CHASS serves 80-100 behavioral health clients each week. Every client attending an initial primary care visit is given mental health-focused assessments for depression and anxiety. This normalizes mental health as an important part of overall health. A provider who sees symptoms can then have a conversation with the client and decide next steps.

“This gives the client the opportunity to talk with the primary care provider, who they might have more trust with,” says Lopez. “A doctor is more accepted by a lot of people than a mental health specialist.”

The primary care physician will also ask about suicidal ideation and if the client needs emergency services. If so, a connection is made immediately.

Overcoming barriers to mental health support

Because language and culture can be barriers, staff members at CHASS are bilingual and sensitive to the wide range of cultures in the population they serve. “Culture can be a barrier in the sense that we’re talking about emotions or feelings and that might be stigmatized, especially if they have traditional or conservative values of machismo and marianismo,” says Lopez.

Southwest Detroit spans so many cultural backgrounds, including diverse countries, ethnicities, languages, dialects, religions and more. “We meet our clients where they are in terms of their own intersectionality,” says Lopez. “We learn about their backgrounds and if we aren’t able to serve them, we connect them to the appropriate resources.” CHASS staff includes social workers and caseworkers to provide specialized support.

Cost, too, is a concern for many. “People wonder if they can afford this or can they attend a session. We offer telehealth services to give more access, which also helps with child care concerns,” she adds.

What could make services at CHASS even more accessible

Additional funding specifically to add a psychiatrist to the in-house team would be helpful, says Lopez.

“Right now we have a psychiatrist in our telehealth services, but a doctor on staff could help us better connect with primary care physicians because they have similar training and background,” she says. “It would be really helpful for our clients to have different options for psychiatric care.”

Holistically, Lopez says there’s a long wishlist she has for her clients, including grants to support immigration services, language skills and job training, education and housing support.

And, Lopez shares her gratitude that CHASS exists. “I am grateful I get to work with peers who are culturally humble, and also with the clients I meet. They are amazing and every day I see their resilience and ability to survive and thrive,” she says.

Learn more about the Community Health and Social Services Center at chasscenter.org.