COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The City of Columbus is welcoming three FUSE executive fellows for the first time, each of whom has been given a special project to work on.
FUSE is a national nonprofit that works with local government agencies to advance racial equity and address challenges faced by urban communities.
It’s no secret that Columbus is a rapidly developing city, and because of that, things like public health, public safety and housing need to be looked at closely and thought about differently to keep up with the demand, which is exactly what these FUSE fellows will be doing.
“The mayor challenged all of the directors of the department to propose a project for a FUSE fellow if they were interested in one,” Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts said.
The FUSE fellows will spend a year working on their special projects. For Columbus Public Health (CPH), they will focus on the growing mental health crisis in the city and underserved areas.
“How are we providing mental health to our vulnerable populations, and is that something that Columbus Public Health should lean more into?” Roberts said. “Should we do more in mental health, or is that really the role of somebody else?”
Dr. Lisa White is the FUSE fellow tasked with doing a needs assessment to identify unmet needs within the community. The first step is talking with members of the staff and getting to know all of the different programs.
“This gives me a unique opportunity to marry my skills as a social worker and find ways that I can, like, look at the whole system, find ways to expand the services that are currently being offered,” she said.
White said CPH is on the cutting edge, but while the department offers a lot of different services, one thing it needs more of is clinicians. Despite current efforts, there remains a significant shortage of mental health providers, causing long wait times unable to meet the city’s rising demand.
“If we can close that gap, that is going to be the key to reaching under-represented groups,” White said. “If you know, there isn’t enough clinicians out there to meet the need of that demand. As Columbus grows, it's just going to go up.”
As for what Columbus is currently seeing in terms of mental health, Roberts said behavioral health has been an issue across the nation for some time, but that the pandemic accelerated the need for more mental health services of all kinds. CPH currently offers programs like alcohol and drug services and a social work program that works closely with the city’s young people.
“We know that behavioral health is often the root cause of substance use disorder can even lead to violent behavior,” Roberts said. “We know domestic violence has gone up. So all of those factors are concerning to us, particularly in our vulnerable population who don't have insurance, maybe don't speak English as their first language and don't have access to regular health care,”.”
White's role for more than 20 years has been to uplift those who have been left behind, especially Black residents and low-income households. She said that while the services currently in place are unique and offer specific things, some programs may be able to collaborate to work more efficiently.
“If we're able to do that, that will allow us more opportunities to reach additional people and bring that hope and healing that we're all striving for within the city,” White said.
By the end of the project, CPH will have a detailed roadmap for addressing the city’s mental health crisis.
The other two fellows are focusing on public safety and housing, all working to create a better Columbus.
