A new crisis center in Benton County that’s meant to provide better outcomes for people in a mental health emergency got a $5 million boost from Oregon lawmakers this month.
The proposed Benton County Crisis Center will provide both short-term and long-term care.
Danielle Brown, the behavioral health deputy director for the Benton County Health Department, said the idea is to provide an option for people in a mental health crisis other than going to jail or ending up in the emergency room.
“What we’re really trying to achieve is having clients that don’t need the hospital or jail, have an alternative level of care that doesn’t currently exist,” she said. "So if law enforcement is engaging with a community member repeatedly for mental health crisis-type behaviors, they can bring them to the crisis center ... in order to get support."
Brown said the new center could be in operation by the end of next year. The facility is part of a larger overhaul of Benton County’s justice system that will include a new courthouse and jail.
The funding was included in a much larger spending package that directed funds to projects in communities across the state.
