MENTAL HEALTH AGENCY COMMUNITY ALLIANCE RECEIVES

For 42 years now, Community Alliance has worked to help people in Omaha who are dealing with mental illness or substance abuse issues. Started by family members of people with mental illness, the mission of Community Alliance is to "move upstream from crisis stage" and respond to calls for help before they are emergency room or self-harm issues. In doing this important work, Community Alliance focuses on a “holistic approach” to the care they provide beyond the traditional therapy and psychiatric care, including housing support, employment assistance, homeless outreach, educational classes for family members, and vocational life skills classes for those reentering society after being incarcerated.

Carole Boye, Executive Director of Community Alliance, sat down for a “Bar Talk” podcast episode with OBA Executive Director Dave Sommers in April 2023 to discuss the work being done by the agency. At a starting point, Boye wants members of the legal community to understand better how mental illness affects a person, and what can be done to get the person back on track. Many times, Boye mentioned, a person was dealing with a mental illness episode, but have since improved—but unfortunately they are being judged by what they did when they were ill, not what they are like now that they are better.

A big part of Community Alliance’s work is to (1) prevent someone’s interaction with the criminal justice system due to a mental illness, and (2) assist someone who is already in the criminal justice system and has a mental illness. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of depression and other mental illnesses have risen, as “it’s become OK to say you’re not OK.” Community Alliance is answering the call by expanding their number of people served each year from 3000-3500 to more than 12,000, and increasing staff from 200 to 350. This enlarged footprint, made possible by a new building being erected at 72nd and Mercy, will also help expand the services provided by Community Alliance into more physical health areas. Wellness clinics and classes, smoking cessation courses and the like will be part of the new Community Alliance building. People with mental illness live approximately 20 years less than the average person, and many of the factors leading to this result are the product of undiagnosed physical issues, including hypertension and diabetes.

In receiving this Public Service Award from the OBA, Carole Boye said Community Alliance wants to thank the Omaha legal community for all the work they do with people dealing with mental health issues in our community. In working close together into the future, Boye sees a path forward filled with dignity and opportunities for some of the most vulnerable in Omaha.

The Omaha Bar Association congratulates Community Alliance on their receiving the Award, and thanks them for all the important work they are doing in our community.