Our History

At the request of community leaders Circuit Court Judge W. Lynn Parkinson, County Welfare Department Director Juliet Snyder, and Chamber of Commerce President W. G. Neibert, Jr., the Tippecanoe County Mental Hygiene Society formed as an affiliate of the national and state Mental Hygiene Societies. Rabbi Elliot J. Einhorn served as its first President.

MHA's "Christmas Gift Lift" program began, serving adults with serious mental illness. This program continues today and is now known as our "Holiday Gift Lift."

MHA became a "Partner Agency of the United Fund" in Tippecanoe County. Today, United Way of Greater Lafayette continues to support MHA services.

A group of Counseling and Clinical Psychology graduate students recognized the need for crisis intervention, education, and referral services for Purdue students.

With faculty advisor Donald Hartsough, Ph.D., and other interested social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists, the crisis intervention phone service began operation in the basement of the Purdue Education building, and was later renamed Lafayette Crisis Center Foundation, Inc.

The William Potter family donated the Potter House and three adjacent lots to what was then named the Mental Health Association of Tippecanoe County.

The Potter House, constructed in 1855 and on the National Registry of Historic Places, is today used for our Supportive Housing program. Our MHA Community Building was also constructed on two of these lots.

North Central Health Services granted funding to MHA for construction of the Mental Health Association Community Building.

The Mental Health Association Community Building opened to the public.

At the time of the ribbon cutting, the Joey A. Seaman Memorial Mental Health Library opened to the community on the main floor.  

The National Mental Health Association changed its name to Mental Health America, and the Tippecanoe County affiliate organization became known as Mental Health America of Tippecanoe County.

MHA became certified to provide the Mental Health First Aid USA and Youth Mental Health First Aid courses.

MHA of Tippecanoe County, Inc. and the Lafayette Crisis Center Foundation (LCC) legally merged on September 2, 2014, with MHA as the lead agency. All of LCC’s programs (except for 2-1-1 services) were then provided by MHA. These programs include:

• 24-7 Crisis Lines
• Community Services Directory
• Rape Survivors Advocacy Series
• Survivors of Suicide Support Group
• Women Who've Been There Support Group

To assist people caught in the months-long gap between scheduling with a provider and their first appointment, NCHS partnered with the United Way of Greater Lafayette and the Community Foundation of Greater Lafayette to fund a pilot System of Care Navigator program. "Navigators" connected people with the local providers and basic needs services they require.

The System of Care Navigator program now functions as one of MHA-WVR’s most accessed permanent services.

To help further fill the gap served by the Navigator program, MHA launched the Let’s Talk peer support program to great success. Based on the Friendship Benches model from Zimbabwe, Let’s Talk remains the fastest growing supportive service MHA-WVR offers.

Following the rapid change brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic (and the related mental health pandemic in its wake), MHA-WVR officially merged with MHA of North Central Indiana and grew its reach to Cass, Clinton, Howard, Miami, and Tipton counties.

As the State of Indiana built out its plan for the nation-wide 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, MHA-WVR was established as one of four state-contracted call centers to support that expanded crisis stabilization initiative.

A newly renovated Crisis Center was officially opened in August on the same lot as the Community Building and Potter House, with space to support the increased staffing required to handle the 988 call volume.

Previously a volunteer-staffed crisis line is now primarily staffed by employees with robust de-escalation crisis management training.

MHA-WVR hopes to add  programs to address youth mental health.

Continue bringing better mental health to our region.