The Living Room is a peer-to-peer support system provided as an alternative to the emergency room for those with mental illness dealing with crises or other issues. Often, those in the ER with a mental health crisis don’t need to be in hospital and end up being triaged for several hours before being told to make an appointment with a psychiatrist. Additionally, most people with emotional distress come from a chaotic environment and need a safe calm space to receive proper attention and treatment. Emergency Departments often are not the best place for an individual who may be experiencing a psychiatric emergency, and the loud, crowded, and fast-paced environment can often exacerbate symptoms.

The Living Room is a peer-led alternative to the traditional ER for those with mental illness crises. The Living Room is a comfortable, non-clinical setting that provides the guest a safe and calming atmosphere where he or she can talk with a peer counselor. The guest is first assessed for safety and is asked for preliminary information. The guest is then paired up with a peer specialist counselor, who can talk the guest through the immediate crisis, offering empathetic listening, practical solutions, and additional resources. During that time, the individual will also talk about situation that increased their mental health crisis, develop a plan for help and services, work with the peer specialist to figure out the short-term and long-term issues at play. Before leaving, the person will be re-evaluated by a clinician and make appointment with the peer specialist for a few days to a week later.

The end goal of The Living Room is to reduce recidivism to the hospital and pair those in need with the right resources to help them be able to handle their mental health crises and move away from using The Living Room. Additionally, a main goal of The Living Room is matching those in need with a particular peer specialist to create a lasting connection.

Connects individuals experiencing mental health illness or crises to peer specialists which help reduce recidivism to the emergency room or hospital, help manage future crises, and provide a connection to continued non-clinical support and resources.

The Living Room provides a savings of around 90% as compared to having a patient visit the emergency room with a mental health crisis ($300 vs. $3,000). Further, The Living Room has succeeded in diverting individuals from the ER, and results have shown revolving door hospital visits. Peer involvement also leads to other areas of support, support groups, social activities, and even employment opportunities for individuals with mental illness. More than 175 people have participated in the program in DuPage County.