Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative (SWMJC) is a dynamic group of 12 partners representing media, educational or community organizations dedicated to strengthening local journalism. We support and enhance the news ecosystem in Southwest Michigan, to provide accurate and equitable coverage, and to promote diversity of voices among journalists and sources alike.

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A solutions-oriented journalism initiative covering mental health issues in Southwest Michigan.

Mental Health Workforce Crisis: Effective approaches to improving the pipeline

Not long after Nancy Rubio’s family moved to Kalamazoo, tragedy struck. Her husband was killed in a car crash. Her young son Diego was struggling to cope, so his elementary school connected the family to El Concilio, a local organization that supports the Latinx community, for counseling in his primary language: Spanish.
Their personal trauma with gun violence equips local intervention workers to fight on the front lines against it. But at what cost to their own mental health? How a shift in the traditional approach to therapy supports a group that’s usually reluctant to do it.

A Way Through: Strategies for Youth Mental Health

When social worker Jim Henry met the 7-year-old, she was living with an aunt after her mother had died. The girl was struggling in school. Wasn’t sleeping. Had emotional issues.

Overloaded and (Often) Unpaid: Caregiving and Mental Wellness

When our body or mind, for one reason or another, fails us — these are the people who step in to help. Professional caregivers are the front-line heroes who nurse us back to health, who hold our hands when we are alone or hurt, who administer medicine to heal us, and who help us up when we fall. But who helps caregivers when they are in need?
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