A library in Chicago’s West Garfield Park neighborhood is beginning to offer mental health services, aiming to serve a community plagued by underinvestment and high crime rates.
The Henry E. Regler Library, which first opened in 1920, is now open as a place where local residents can receive support and have their voices heard.
Jordan Henderson, a licensed counselor for the Chicago Department of Public Health, meets with West Garfield Park residents once a week in the library’s study room.
“People don’t expect to get mental health services in a library, so it’s a great opportunity for us to have mental health services here in the community,” Henderson said.
Henderson offers counseling services at the library every Tuesday from 9am to 5pm, accepting both walk-in visits and referrals from others.
“We know there’s a lot of trauma in this community, and we can help address that trauma,” Henderson said.
Henderson has been working at Legler Library for about a month and is one of three clinicians currently working at Chicago Public Libraries.
“Coming here removes a lot of the barriers to going out to get services,” he said.
Henderson estimates he’s met about two dozen people since he started on the job.
“I have to imagine that if I had been here more, the numbers would have been higher… We’ve really seen a great need,” Henderson said.
Access to local library services is considered by some experts to be essential to addressing the cycle of violence.
“Being able to go to your local library and meet with people in your community, you don’t have to make an appointment, you can just go in, talk to someone and get services. I think this fills a lot of needs in the communities that we serve,” said Kelly Carroll of the Chicago Institute for Nonviolence.
Public Health is currently exploring other possible co-location locations as part of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s mental health expansion strategy.
