LYNCHBURG, Va. (WDBJ) – Lynchburg cut the ribbon Thursday on Horizon Behavioral Health’s new Crisis Receiving Center.
Research shows there is a rising need for mental health resources across the country.
One in ten adults experienced mental health crises last year. That’s according to data from the World Health Organization – with young adults having the highest prevalence.
And closer to home, a Centra survey last year found around half of people in the Lynchburg area found there were barriers with getting mental health care – which is nearly double the percentage from just a few years earlier.
Horizon is hoping to change that.
When help shows up at the right time, it can save a life. Debra Jefferson knows that better than anyone.
Debra spent years addicted to drugs. In 1993, in court, shackled and handcuffed, she thought that was her future. Then she walked into Horizon. She got clean, and she’s been sober 27 years. Now she works as a crisis specialist at Horizon, helping people who stand where she once stood.
“The physical bondage of shackles did not touch the bondage I had been in many years with this disease of addiction, and the amazing thing about my story is, i went to treatment through this organization. this organization saved my life, changed my life,” said Jefferson.
Stories like hers are the reason this center exists.
People can walk in any time for a mental health evaluation, 23-hour observation, detox, or crisis stabilization. The goal is simple: keep people out of ERs and jails and connect them to help sooner.
“Individuals come in at the worst time in their life, or in the worst place they can ever be, so to have a safe, nurturing, welcoming environment that they can come into, where individuals are there trained to care for them and make sure that they get the services they need is just invaluable,” said Melissa Lucy, CEO, Horizon Behavioral Health.
It also takes pressure off police. Right now, officers can spend hours or days in hospitals waiting with someone in crisis. This center gets them back on the street faster.
“Just this year we’ve seen law enforcement officers save 36,000 hours of your time and 1.9 million miles of saved drive time, because there’s a place just like this one to go to,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin.
The center is funded by a $550,000 federal grant. It’s part of a statewide push to expand crisis care and improve response times.
The center will have 32 spots available for someone in crisis, and Debra knows, that even one spot can make all the difference.
“I am very passionate about this and I am very grateful we are going to have some beds to offer our people,” said Jefferson.
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