Longtime Mental Health Leader Retires

For many decades, David Wiebe has been at the forefront of mental health care in the Kansas City region, helping shape the community mental health system that exists in Kansas today.

As director of Johnson County Mental Health for more than two decades, Wiebe has overseen its growth from a staff of 80 to one of 400 - one that today helps thousands of predominantly low-income people with mental illnesses live independently.

Last month, Wiebe retired at the age of 72.

He recently sat down with KCUR’s Elana Gordon, and told her how his experiences early on as a KU social work student in the '60s had a profound impact on his work in mental health.