For Cheryl Potts, leading Oak Park Township’s Community Mental Health Board isn’t just a career — it’s a deeply personal mission.
Serving as executive director since the fall of 2021, the longtime resident greets each day with the goal of not only assisting promotion of mental health services but working to shatter the stigma of mental health care by being open about her own firsthand experiences.
Whether finding ways to fund community services alongside elected officials, building partnerships with social service providers or speaking one-on-one with someone, Potts’ experiences of having a brother die by suicide, a family history of mental health concerns and facing her own mental health battles remain her catalysts for bringing real change to the way Oak Park addresses mental wellness.
“I thought it was a good opportunity to work in my own backyard and help my own neighbors with mental health,” she said. “What I really wanted to focus my career on was reducing the barriers to access and eliminating the stigma and discrimination around mental health.”
Five years ago, Potts was selected to lead the charge of the Township’s Mental Health Board following 20 years of experience in the field of human services. With roles including nonprofit work with the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and The Kennedy Forum Illinois, it has always been mission-critical for Potts to help eliminate mental health discrimination and destigmatize the narrative around reaching out for mental health and addiction support, both through lending a helping hand and openly sharing her journey from struggle to recovery.
“There should be no shame in reaching out for help when struggling,” she said. “People have in their head what they think mental illness is, and it’s usually negative thoughts. When you do seek out support and treatment, you can be very productive and live a normal life — and I think it’s really important to share those stories.”
Since 1973, the Community Mental Health Board has served Oak Parkers through planning, developing, evaluating and funding mental health services throughout the village. However, while Potts agrees the resources for mental health care have evolved since the board’s early days, the candidness of the conversation hasn’t quite caught up fully.
“Having the general public aware of what they can contribute is not insignificant,” she said. “You could have a conversation with someone at a grocery store that could change their day. A lot of people are fearful and think ‘Well, I’m not a mental health expert.’ But it’s about making those true, genuine connections which we miss so much in our society today.”
What Potts has enjoyed most with the board is truly having a direct impact at the hyperlocal level. She cites area resources like Thrive Counseling Center, NAMI Metro Suburban, Beyond Hunger and Sarah’s Inn as those which have joined forces to examine the root causes of conditions and make life easier for Oak Parkers in need.
“When we bring people together to solve problems, then I think we’re able to make a bigger impact,” she said. “The piece I love most is not sitting in the office but actually being out in the community.”
Even so, Potts adds that challenges to the role have included being a small, local organization which still has to deal with all of the changes that happen at the federal level, from changes to Medicaid and insurance policies, and budget cuts to critical funding sources.
“We have a wonderful community, but we don’t live in a bubble — we are affected by all these things that destabilize any progress we’ve made.”
Nonetheless, Potts maintains honest conversations are essential to normalizing mental health challenges, which will in turn help connect locals with the extensive helpful resources available in Oak Park.
“It really doesn’t feel like work — it feels like this is what I’m meant to be doing,” she said. “It’s a passion, and seeing the changes in people over time is what really reassures me that I’m doing the right thing.”