Lifeways

About Lifeways

LifeWays is a community mental health services program in Jackson, Michigan, serving Jackson and Hillsdale counties. They support adults and children with emotional and behavioral challenges, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and substance use issues. Their care centers on recovery, wellness, trauma-informed practice, and coordinating physical and behavioral health. As a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, they serve anyone regardless of where they live or what insurance they carry.

For substance use, LifeWays first helps each person figure out the right level of care for their goals, then either links them with a partner provider in the community or enrolls them in their own outpatient program. That outpatient therapy is built for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use concerns and uses individual, group, and family sessions to address drinking or drug use alongside the attitudes and habits that can stall recovery. Because outpatient care is the least restrictive option, it works best for people who can stay reasonably safe between appointments. LifeWays also takes part in the Michigan Recovery Incentives Program, a pilot that offers financial rewards for staying engaged in treatment, and they work with local courts and run prevention efforts in Hillsdale County through schools, coalitions, and community events.