INDIANAPOLIS — Hoosiers suffering mental health crises are visiting public libraries for help — transforming the role of librarians who act simultaneously as researchers, archivists and quasi-social workers.
Mental Health America of Indiana is stepping in to train librarians in how to respond to these crises and direct patrons to reliable information on suicide prevention, addiction treatment and mental health disorders. The organization will begin training librarians this year following a $50,000 grant from MolinaCares Accord and Molina Healthcare, in partnership with the Indiana Library Federation.
Mental Health America of Indiana estimates one in five Hoosier adults are living with mental illness, amounting to 1.2 million Hoosiers each year. Meanwhile, the organization found there are three times as many libraries as there are hospitals.
A survey by the Indiana Library Federation’s mental health Taskforce found 46% of library workers reported calling emergency services to assist with a patient in crisis.
Seventy percent of library workers said they felt or witnessed a coworker experience secondary trauma in the workplace, while 85% of librarians reported witnessing patrons they believed were experiencing mental illness.