In February 2021, almost a year into a pandemic that was unprecedented in our lifetimes, MLive began asking “Are you OK?”
Even before COVID hit the United States in early 2020, MLive had been reporting on the toll of mental health issues on Michigan residents, families, homes, schools and the strain it put on a health-care system that struggled to keep up with demands for services. The pandemic just amplified the problem, and the need for solutions.
Much of that reporting was done by longtime MLive reporter Julie Mack, who retired in July 2021.
Mental health problems have not gone away since then. And I’m happy to report that Mack has not, either. She is back working on a special basis for MLive as it participates in year-long reporting initiative with the Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative, with a focus on mental wellness challenges and solutions.
“I've had multiple family members who've had serious mental health issues, so it's something that I’ve seen up close,” Mack said. “I know lots of people who had similar experiences. It is a hugely important topic for pretty much every family in America – it's hard to think of people who are untouched directly or indirectly by mental health issues.”
Before COVID, Mack cited figures in her reporting that said half of all Americans will have a mental health disorder at some point in their lives, and 1 in 5 Americans suffer from depression, anxiety or some form of post-traumatic stress at any given time. Since COVID, she said, that number has increased to 1 in 4.
“As divisive as the debate was over different aspects of the pandemic, there really wasn’t any disagreement that the pandemic really took a hammer to people’s mental health,” she said. “The isolation, the financial stresses … all those parents who were dealing with children who were not going to school … it added a lot of stressors.”
The Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative received a grant in September from the Solutions Journalism Network to launch the mental wellness project, and then received support from the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. There are 12 organizations involved along with MLive.
“Since April of this year we've published about 20 stories on the topic,” said Mark Tower, MLive’s editor for the Kalamazoo Gazette. “It's fully up and running, thanks in no small part to Julie rejoining us after retiring. That’s been essential – to have her knowledge base and experience to bring to bear.”
Mack’s work for the reporting initiative is broader than the effects of COVID, to be sure. She has looked at suicide awareness and prevention, mental health intervention training, finding effective therapy options, and crisis intervention training for public safety officers.
And while the community-wide collaborative is based around Kalamazoo, the reporting and focus on solutions has practical benefits for readers anywhere, she said. For instance, one of her stories delved into how to talk to people who are exhibiting signs of suicidal thoughts or tendencies. Another gave details on how to “shop” for an effective counseling partner.
“As we're writing the stories we're supposed to be thinking about not just throwing out the problem – but also, what are the solutions?” Mack said. “That’s solutions-based journalism, and that’s very much an essential element of this particular project.”
A common thread through all of Mack’s reporting – pre-pandemic to now – is raising awareness to destigmatize mental and emotional problems, and to point people toward help. And while COVID has made things worse in some regards, it has brought these issues more into the mainstream as more people struggle, she said.
And that has led to some “dramatic leaps” forward in access to care, Mack said: More employers adding remote telehealth services, expanded government programs, more marketing and education around health-care options.
“The expansion of telehealth is something that was a necessity because people weren't supposed to be getting together in person. It turned out that had really beneficial effects in terms of providing access.”
While some of the stories written for the collaborative are specific to the Kalamazoo area, most of the solutions are applicable to anyone who is struggling. And, said Tower, more “solutions” are coming in the remaining months of the project.
“Speaking for MLive and the Kalamazoo Gazette, and our good partners at (the collaborative), our work is not done. We have a lot of good stories to tell.”
🎧 In this episode of Behind the Headlines, John Hiner and Eric Hultgren chat with Julie Mack and Mark Tower talk about a project on Mental Health MLive is reporting in collaboration with the Southwest Journalism Collaborative. Listen here.
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John Hiner is the vice president of content for MLive Media Group. If you have questions you’d like him to answer, or topics to explore, share your thoughts at editor@mlive.com.
