SOUTH BEND, Ind. — South Bend’s 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Center is nearing completion. After years of hard work, it will officially open on March 4th.
The center follows a national trend of focusing care where people need immediate help with their mental health, before they make harmful decisions.
“This is the urgent care center for our world,” says Laurie Nafziger, Oak Lawn’s president and CEO.
This 24/7 walk-in crisis center operated by Oak Lawn is a lifeline for people in crisis. We are staffed with experienced professionals who can immediately respond to all types of mental health and substance use disorders with the right resources.
“We take the time to assess, consider the risks, listen, sort through the issues, de-escalate, plan and go from there,” Nafziger explains.
Resources like this not only work to prevent tragedies, but they also help local police officers respond to situations for which they are poorly trained and equipped.
“From the volume of calls, it appears that only 1.5 percent of calls are mental health related, but I would definitely say that at least half of them probably have some sort of mental health component to them,” said South Bend Police Cmdr. explain. Scott Rushkowski.
Local leaders say the crisis center will ensure the highest quality of care for people who are suffering mentally and that medical professionals will work in conjunction with law enforcement, rather than in parallel, as in past years. He says he will make it possible.
“Now we have experts and we have a place to bring them in if we don’t know what to do at that moment,” the chief said.
“Sometimes they’re left in the community, sometimes they’re taken to prison, sometimes they’re sent to the emergency room, and none of these are the best treatments. That’s why this crisis center We’re bridging that gap,” Nafziger said.
The City of South Bend covered construction costs and first year funding for the project.
The Crisis Center will officially open to the public on Monday, March 4th.
