Mental health help in Superior is going to be easier to get. A plan is bringing a host of services under one roof with the help of a big donation. Danielle Kaeding reports.

The Human Development Center will dedicate the former St. Francis South Nursing Home in Superior as the Jill Marcovich Bachinski Building. The center purchased the facility with a $225,000 donation from Marcovich’s parents—Toby and Sharon Marcovich. Center Foundation Director Kim Matteen says their daughter struggled with mental illness.

“Jill passed away unexpectedly. Her heart stopped. Folks with significant mental health issues die on average, studies have found, to 25 years earlier than people without mental illness. So, Jill was very young when she passed away. She was in her forties. That’s too young to go.”

Matteen says the Marcovichs are paying tribute to their daughter while bringing awareness to mental health issues in the community.

“There are a lot of barriers to getting mental health treatment, whether it’s the stigma or transportation or a lack of coordination of care. So, we’re hoping that this will definitely be making a huge impact on the community.”

Matteen says the building will house a 20-bed chemical dependency treatment facility and offices for mental health and substance abuse counseling, an adult community support program and youth treatment services.

“And, we’re also going to have a space for folks called ‘Jill’s Place.’ That’s for folks in our community support program who are experiencing severe mental illness and need a place to go.”

Matteen says the facility makes care more accessible for their clients.

“We had services all over town—like three or four different locations. So, this is really going to be great. We’re going to have our outreach workers and our doctors and our therapists and our residential chemical dependency treatment folks all under the same roof.”

The National Institute of Mental Health reports on their website that one in four adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.

An open house will be held at the building at 1500 N. 34th Street on Monday, September 22nd beginning at 4:30 p.m.

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