DETROIT – Detroit’s Community Health and Social Services (CHASS) Center is expanding mental health services and COVID-19 testing in southwest Detroit amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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The CHASS Center said it will be limiting in-person appointments, but has social workers available to speak over the phone.
Dr. Felix Valbuena, Jr., CEO of the CHASS Center, says calls to their domestic violence and behavioral health departments have skyrocketed since the stay-at-home order went into effect. He says levels of anxiety and depression have increased due to people isolating at home.
The center is also focusing efforts to help Detroiters get tested for COVID-19. Valbuena says that residents in southwest Detroit are being tested “significantly less than the rest of the city.”
“A lot of individuals in our community are in essential worker positions -- grocery stores and gas stations -- and they don’t have an option of staying home,” Valbuena said. “And they may not have health insurance, so this testing is going to be free whether you have insurance or not.”
The center’s drive-thru testing will begin Monday and expects to administer 50 tests a day. Current patients and southwest Detroit residents with at least one COVID-19 symptom will be eligible for a test.
Officials say residents must call ahead for an assessment.
For more information, visit the CHASS Center’s website here or call 313-849-3920.
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