OUR MISSION

Independence Center began accepting Members in 1989 following a two-year fundraising and planning initiative started by Lake County residents seeking aid for mentally ill family members. It became clear the resources needed by those with chronic mental illness were not prevalent, and if these family members and other afflicted community members were to ever have a chance at living normal, healthy and productive lives, the community would have to support them in a new way.

With a $60,000 grant for the facility and an additional $165,000 to work with, doors opened to the first 11 original Members supported by three paid staff members and a 15-Member Board of Directors.

Since then, we have served more than 3,000 Members. The most common disorders our Members are faced with include bi-polar disorder, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and schizophrenia, or other psychotic disorders.

Members come to us from all over Lake County. Their ailments don't care about the color of their skin, their religious affiliation or their household income. Regardless of their differences, they are the same in their struggles to rise above their mental illness.

- 1 in 5 adults in America experience a mental illness, amounting to 140,000 in Lake County.  

- 17% of Northern Lake County adults reported a mental disorder in the last year.

- Adults with mental illness die an average of 25 yrs earlier, largely due to treatable conditions. 

- 90% of suicide victims have an underlying mental illness.

- Among the 20 mil adults battling addiction, 50% of them have a co-occurring mental illness 

- About 26% of homeless adults live with a serious mental illness.

-  56% of American adults with a mental illness do not receive treatment. 

-  Each day an estimated 18-22 veterans die by suicide based on PTSD related illness.