DFW News App

Lachelle Goodrich, founder and executive director of CHAMP, stands in front of the nonprofit’s mobile mental health care unit, Sept. 5, 2024. (David Moreno | Fort Worth Report)
” data-medium-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/DSC09614-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/DSC09614-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button”>Antennille Robinson, 47, has struggled with finding in-person mental health services for her children near their Stop Six neighborhood in southeast Fort Worth. She’s found several telehealth options, but believes those did not address her family’s needs. “We need somewhere physical, where my children can actually sit down and talk to someone versus it being virtual,” she said. Soon, Robinson won’t have to go outside her community to receive the mental health support she’s looking for. The nonprofit CHAMP — also known as Community Healing and Mental Health Project — is launching a mobile mental health care unit to address the needs of children and families in several Fort Worth communities. CHAMP founder and executive director Lachelle Goodrich unveiled renderings for the CHAMP Mobile Mental Wellness Unit at HustleBlendz Coffee in Fort Worth during a fundraising event Sept. 5. Lachelle Goodrich discusses the CHAMP Mobile Mental Wellness Unit at HustleBlendz Coffee in Fort Worth, Sept. 5, 2024. (David Moreno | Fort Worth Report)Goodrich, who is also a licensed counselor, launched the nonprofit at the end of 2019 after Fort Worth resident Atatiana Jefferson was shot and killed by a police officer. CHAMP provides free, short-term counseling to teens and young adults who have experienced gun violence or abuse in three ZIP codes: 76104, 76105 and 76116. The ZIP codes include the Stop Six, Historic Southside and Las Vegas Trail neighborhoods, which are considered to be low-to-moderate income communities. The CHAMP Mobile Mental Wellness Unit will be used for community counseling, group therapy sessions and educational assistance. The unit will also provide virtual reality equipment aimed at addressing mental health needs.“We know this is important, because these communities have limited resources,” Goodrich said. “The goal is to go directly to the community and remove barriers of having to go to a counselor’s office or to any office.” The mobile unit will not provide crisis response but serve as a community partner that will arrive 24 to 48 hours after an incident that requires mental health services, Goodrich said. Exposure to gun violence can increase the risk of negative health outcomes, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, according to the University of Pennsylvania Health System. CHAMP board chair Jeremy Strange, who created the design for the interior of the mobile unit, believes it will spark conversations in communities that often avoid conversations surrounding mental health.“As a teenager in Stop Six, there were a lot of violent crimes and we didn’t have therapists. We didn’t even know what mental health was, that wasn’t a word we used,” he said. “This will be a place to help with some of these things that are happening. … We are dreaming big.”Jeremy Strange, CHAMP board chair, describes his renderings of the CHAMP Mobile Mental Wellness Unit at HustleBlendz Coffee in Fort Worth, Sept. 5, 2024. Strange said the goal is to have a consultation room in the back for individualized counseling and a space for group gatherings by the entrance. (David Moreno | Fort Worth Report)Mobile health clinics have provided care for decades, but the health care delivery model became a more prominent solution during the COVID-19 pandemic as a method of getting tests and immunizations to residents across the country. Mobile health clinics benefit communities by providing care at a lower cost and greater accessibility, according to Tulane University.The idea for a mobile mental health care unit came to Goodrich in a dream. She quickly searched online and realized there was no service like it in Fort Worth. “I found that you have mobile breast cancer screenings, prostate screenings, but nothing mobile for mental health. I realized this is what I’m going to do,” Goodrich said. “This is the vision God gave me.” A close look at renderings showcasing the entrance of the CHAMP Mobile Mental Wellness Unit. The entry will feature a television for educational work and group gatherings. (Courtesy image | CHAMP) Another rendering showcases the private consultation area that will be constructed inside the back of the unit. (Courtesy image | CHAMP) In Fort Worth, current mobile health units include the UNT Health Science Center Pediatric Mobile Clinic, Moncrief Cancer Institute mobile screening clinic, Texas Health Resources mobile unit, and the Black Heart Association mobile unit. Robinson said she’s grateful and excited about the new mobile unit. She knows it will not only help her Stop Six community, but assist her own family “with how to cope through our difficult situations.” David Moreno is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.