Community Alliance expands space for Omaha’s mental health needs

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - A campaign is launching Thursday that could help people struggling with their mental health.

Community Alliance is building a new 127,000-square-foot facility where the entire community can benefit.

One man says the current clinic has helped him manage his mental disability and so much more.

“I have what’s called bipolar schizophrenia. I’m schizo-effective, which means I’m not full-blown schizophrenia, I am bipolar and have depression,” says mental health advocate Tobias Tomasek.

With help from Community Alliance, Tomasek says he’s managing his illness and couldn’t be more excited for the nonprofit’s expansion.

He meets weekly with his therapist and discusses his progress with his case manager two to three times a week. They’re available for him when he needs them.

“For a long time, I thought it was me. It was my problem,” says Tomasek.

Community Alliance CEO Carole Boye says the need for mental health services in Omaha is great. That’s why the nonprofit is expanding its services, constructing the new building on the corner of 72nd Street and Mercy Road, which will allow them to serve up to three times the number of people they do today.

“The statistics that we’ve seen are that, where before COVID, 1 in 5 people might have a mental health challenge in any given year, it’s now 1 in 3,” says Boye.

The new space will have a medical center for primary healthcare and a dedicated health and wellness center where people can exercise. They’ll also have programs in the daytime and will be open in the evening as well.

“All those services are in one spot for me to go to. I don’t have to track someone else down or use a different provider, I’m able to use just Community Alliance. They encompass everything I need for my mental health and my physical health,” says Tomasek.

He says Medicaid covers his treatment and has everything he needs to help him with life’s obstacles. Now he’s hoping to share what he’s learned with others who may need it, too.

“All you have to do is pick up the phone, all you have to do is make that contact. They’re willing to help,” says Tomasek.

In recent years Community Alliance served 3,000 or more people annually at its present locations. The goal is to expand services to about 10,000 annually within the first five years of operations in the new space.

The new clinic is expected to open in the Spring of 2024.

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