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ALTON - Centerstone has many services for individuals and families struggling with mental health or substance use disorders.
A national organization with a location in Alton, Centerstone offers resources for community members across Southern Illinois. In a recent interview on “Our Daily Show!” with C.J. Nasello, CEO Anne Tyree and Marketing and Community Relations Manager Aaron Seibert shared more about the Centerstone mission.
“Centerstone provides a whole array of services for people with behavioral health challenges, and those could be the challenge of addiction or it could be a mental health challenge, it could be a lifelong mental health challenge or it could just be situational,” Tyree explained. “There’s a lot of longevity at Centerstone. I think we’re all connected to a larger purpose.”
Tyree noted that the Centerstone employees work hard to help the community. She shared that several employees recently were instrumental in the installation of a new Little Free Pantry outside of Centerstone’s Alton location. This pantry allows people to take and leave food, hygiene products and other supplies.
“Honestly, we’re trying to serve everybody in the community,” Seibert said. “Anyone who is needing help with any food insecurity or just needing any of the items that are in the pantry, they’re available to come get it. We’re not going to say you can't come get something. If you need it, please come get it. Help yourself. It is there to help the community.”
Tyree noted that there are a lot of other unique programs at Centerstone, including their Pathways to Success program. This program is designed for children who are experiencing a “serious emotional disturbance” and their families.
The program aims to limit psychiatric hospitalizations and emergency room visits by providing support and connecting families to organizations like Centerstone or other mental health resources.
“We have an entire community of people, and we work across many counties in Southern Illinois,” Tyree said. “We reach out to the families, and we try to help them mobilize their community around them to provide support, because as you can imagine, when you have a youth or a child who has a serious emotional disturbance, it’s a big family systems issue. The families need a lot of support.”
Centerstone is also known for providing resources to military servicemembers and their loved ones. The organization works closely with the Wounded Warrior Project to offer retreats, therapies and more for military families.
“Centerstone has a national reputation for providing services to military members, veterans and their families,” Tyree said. “We have a whole nationwide network of therapists who have military experience, they talk the language, they know the culture, really just another really unique benefit we offer to all our communities through Centerstone. We’re one of the only organizations nationally that offers those.”
Tyree noted that behavioral healthcare has changed a lot in recent years as people become open about mental health and substance use. She said Centerstone hopes to grow its footprint in all of the communities it serves, including Alton. They do this through fundraisers like the upcoming glo bingo night on April 12, 2025, at the Alton VFW, and the first annual Alton Art Expo in late March.
She added that support is available. Above all else, Centerstone hopes to be a resource for people who need it.
“The good news is there’s treatment and it works,” she said. “It’s just like going to the doctor for a cold. You can get medication. You can learn how to think differently. For PTSD, there are lots of new treatments out there that can help people overcome that. So the good news is, it is treatable and you can get better and life gets better.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. For more information about crisis resources in the Riverbend region, including Centerstone, check out this article on RiverBender.com.
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