This video segment is from Restoring Hope, a TV series hosted on WHMB40 and serving the Indianapolis area. Crosswinds Counseling offers counseling services throughout Indiana.
Curtis: Tonight we have another important guest from the local political scene joining us. Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen is here tonight. Mayor thank you for being with us.
Chris: Merry Christmas.
Curtis: I know, can you believe it’s December?
Chris: Hard to believe… well, I can believe it because my kids remind me every day. So yes.
Curtis: They’re excited. Right?
Chris: They are excited. What’s there not to be excited about?
Curtis: I was going to save this for last, but you have four kids, 10 and under. What is the Christmas season like in your house?
Chris: Uh, mass chaos. But that’s every day for us.
Curtis: So that’s not just Christmas?
Chris: No. Just add some cold weather and some stockings.
We love the Christmas season. It’s great to be able to hold the threat of Santa Clause over their heads at times. You probably remember those days.
Curtis: I do.
Chris: But it’s a lot of fun.
Curtis: That’s awesome. Let’s talk about your term as Mayor here. You were elected in November of ‘19. So you started in January of 2020. I don’t know if you remember this, but the world kind of changed in 2020.
Chris: I remember that well.
Curtis: What was that like? Seriously. You’re probably what, 2 months into office when the world just goes crazy.
Chris: Yeah, we were excited to take off because it is my hometown. To be mayor of your hometown, such a small percentage ever get to do that.
Curtis: Yeah.
Chris: So an incredible opportunity. We had a bold vision. We have great plans for the future. And here, in March of 2020, it kind of came to a screeching halt. And it really helped kind of refocus our purpose as to why we were here. We were still able to carry on with our big plans of infrastructure development, enhancing our downtown, for example, focusing on our workforce, but we had to add another huge component to that. And that was dealing with Covid 19.
Curtis: So you did that proactively, or as it was happening. Now as we can’t completely look back, but you can look at the pandemic and assess these last 18 months or so. How has it gone in Noblesville? How have you guys navigated all of those tricky waters in the midst of the pandemic?
Chris: Yes. So first and foremost we focused heavily on the businesses in our community. Our downtown and our city is built on the back of small businesses as are many communities across the state of Indiana. So we jumped into action to give out some small business grants to make sure we could keep those doors open. We know those small businesses are keeping food on the table for people, rent paid for people, mortgages paid. So we were able to jump in before the federal government did to help keep their doors open, and we are really proud of the work we’ve done there. And then we shifted really to the general population and tried to understand what our residents needed. And we discovered quickly that there was a major mental health epidemic coming along the pandemic that we’re all dealing with. So we had to quickly change our focus to that area.
Curtis: Tell me about that focus. I know that you have really invested your time and energy into maybe trying to get rid of the stigma, help people, what are you doing actively to address the mental health concerns.
Chris: Sure, and you hear a lot of the campaigns went on about #kickingthestigma and what not. Which I think is incredibly important. I also think that it’s important that we put action behind those words as well. We launched a program early on in March of 2020 called Noble Act which is a proactive paramedicine program. What that is, we know that if we could come alongside those in our community – those that are dealing with anxiety, depression, loneliness, substance abuse, homelessness. Any number of those issues, if we can come alongside them early in that process to help link them directly to services, that we can get to them before they get into our criminal justice system for example. We can help get them the services they need to get them back into our community as a thriving member of our community. That not only has a direct impact on the culture of our city, but it has a direct impact on the budgetary and economics of our city as well. We have a 92 million annual operating budget. 47.8% of that goes towards police and fire. So we knew if we could invest ahead of time, we could reduce the number of 911 calls in our community. Furthermore, we got to April 2020, what really struck me is that we had more individuals commit suicide in the city of Noblesville than died of Covid 19.
Curtis: Wow.
Chris: And that told me what I was already expecting, that we had some real mental health challenges in our community. So we launched a program called Mental Health Monday where I go online onto Facebook live with a local therapist Kristen Boice and talk about my feelings. I talk about everything from the struggles of raising kids, to running a city, to having a healthy marriage, to e-learning, to you name it. We deal with all of that and talk openly about it. So it’s an exciting time.
Curtis: Tell me about that. What kind of feedback have you gotten. How has that gone over with your residents?
Chris: I was a little apprehensive at first. You know. Here I am, a white male republican in Hamilton County, and go on Facebook and talk about my feelings. Um, that’s a little different.
Curtis: It’s not what we do.
Chris: It’s not what we do. Right. But I also realized that maybe it is what we are supposed to be doing. I felt like if I could as a leader of a community, share my thoughts openly and share my feelings that it might help bring some comfort to those that I knew were struggling. And I had a ton of feedback from folks my age, millennials, all the way up to Baby Boomers – especially Baby Boomers who really weren’t conditioned as a generation to talk about their feelings, but I had whispered to me in the grocery store, ‘Hey I watched your show last Monday.’ I felt a little like he was confessing to me a little bit, but I was really glad we were reaching into them in the comfort of their home and giving them the resource they need to talk about it.
Curtis: In all seriousness, these issues that will lead to suicide and lead to depression and lead to severe anxiety and stress, are so often hidden. They’re so often not known to all those around them, even those close to us. Getting it out into the open just seems like a critical step. We have got to talk about mental health more and more. So I think this effort is tremendous.
Chris: Well I applaud, it’s not only local leaders. We’ve seen the Indianapolis Colts step forward with great campaigns. Getting well-known people talking about these and making it known – hey you know what, it’s ok to not be ok. It’s not just me. It’s local elected officials. It’s local sports authorities. It’s folks like that that are being open and talking about that. And I think it gives people a sense of calm and lets them know it’s going to be ok.
Curtis: Is this a long-term plan. Do you think Mental Health Monday is here to stay?
Chris: So yeah, it is twice a month now and I don’t see an end in sight. I’m committed to sticking with it. We have folks that chime in every other week with questions live on Facebook. We’re going to invite some guests coming forward. In the next couple of weeks, we are going to address veteran mental health because we know a lot of our veterans have unique challenges as well. So there are always new topics coming up. It’s something I don’t see going away. In fact, I think it’s going to get stronger and more prevalent in our community and we want to be there to talk about it, and also put action behind it, and get resources for those folks.
Curtis: One of those other things, quickly Chris, is the Holiday Season. The holidays can be so joyful and so fun, but for some, they can bring more anxiety. More stress. Are you seeing that in your population?
Chris: Yeah, and I think I would say, not even just for some. For most, it adds a level of anxiety and stress. You laughed about having 4 kids. You have 3. You know what it’s like. It’s colder outside. It’s darker outside. There’s the stress of purchasing gifts and financial stress at the end of the year. So it’s a tough time and it can be the highest of highs. It can be the lowest of lows. And we’re going to be there for folks [and provide] some resources to get through it.
Curtis: Chris thanks so much for all that you’ve been doing.