Parent Leaders Mamie Cosey (right) and Rosalia Salgado (left) pose for a picture with Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton (middle).
The Healing-Centered Illinois Task Force, which COFI and POWER-PAC IL parents Mamie Cosey (East St. Louis) and Rosalia Salgado (Chicago) were appointed to serve on, released a transformative report outlining how Illinois can become a healing-centered state!
This report is a huge win for POWER-PAC IL leaders! They advocated for including parent voices in the task force, and the task forced cited POWER-PAC IL’s “Shining a Light” report (see below or on page 28).
“Illinois communities have a rich history of peer support through informal methods. This approach is effective for under-resourced communities and is a crucial aspect of healing-centered care that should be integrated into the state’s healthcare system (COFI, 2024). Engaging individuals with lived experiences is essential for driving healing-centered transformations within any organization or system. Peer support interventions not only enhance community engagement but also tackle workforce and systemic barriers that restrict healing opportunities (SAMHSA, 2023).”
Illinois state lawmakers established the Healing-Centered Task Force through Senate Bill 646 in 2023. It officially launched in January 2024, led by Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton. Their goal was to explore how Illinois could make its policies and systems more trauma-informed and healing-centered. In addition to Mamie and Rosalia, the task force included legislators, state agency directors, psychologists, and other community members working together to develop this report.
The Recommendations
The report consists of 17 recommendations focused on public awareness and education, workforce development, sustainability, and more. Some of the recommendations that are most aligned with the work of COFI and POWER-PAC IL include:
- Expanding workforce pipelines by valuing lived experiences and promoting internship and peer support models.
- Exploring Medicaid reform options to enhance funding and support for healing-centered screening and services.
- Building support across all sectors by demonstrating the human and financial benefits of trauma-informed, healing-centered practices.
- Integrating trauma-informed and healing-centered principles into legislation, policies, and regulations, especially within state agencies and those receiving state funding.
Expanding peer support models and Medicaid reforms are two ideas that parents highlighted in “Shining a Light” and have been educating policymakers about for years. The mental health workforce is struggling to keep up with increased demand for services, and there are systemic barriers that restrict who receives access to lifesaving care. We applaud the task force for recognizing these challenges and working with parents and guardians to transform the mental health system!
Parent Quote
“I’m proud of the long hours and work we all put into this report. It was one of the most rewarding things I’ve worked on,” said Mamie Cosey (pictured on right hand side). “One lesson that’s stuck with me is sometimes we look at people through the lens but we have to see them in the mirror, meaning we don’t always have a clear view of what they’re struggling with. I feel like that speaks to me. In East St. Louis, I see how people in my community are struggling but there aren’t many mental health services available. That’s why we need everyone to know about this work and we need policymakers to champion these trauma-informed, healing-centered policies and recommendations for our communities.”
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