In September of last year, officials with LifeSkills and the Barren River Area Development District broke ground on a new regional mental health crisis intake center in Bowling Green — the centerpiece of the $20 million “Anchor Project,” aimed at being the state’s first-ever mental health and substance abuse treatment checkpoint.
Could such a facility be built to serve the citizens of south western Kentucky? And is it necessary?
This conversation had its genesis during Monday afternoon’s Pennyrile Area Development District meeting, in which LifeSkills CEO and Caldwell County native Joe Dan Beavers and his chief operating officer, Eric Embry, shared their blueprint with this nine-county region — in hopes of cultivating the thought.
Referring to Bowling Green, Embry said their police department answers about 900 calls on a yearly basis, for individuals dealing with mental health or substance abuse. More than 75% of inmates at the Warren County Jail deal with those issues, as well, and 1-in-5 individuals in the BRADD region are affected by the same concerns.
This area, he added, faces similar, if not worse, stressing factors.
Opioid funds, Embry added, legally need a space to do the work necessary to change lives, and this can be the solution.
After joining with the Pennyroyal Center, LifeSkills serves the 18-county stretch from Land Between the Lakes to Mammoth Cave, and their recent partnership with BRADD and the Bowling Green area is three-phased.
Part I is the mental health crisis intake center, which is a 36,000-square-foot facility that offers 24/7 drop-in crisis stabilization, detox and substance abuse treatment — all while bypassing emergency room care and jail for people in crisis. Its estimated staff is 88 full-time employees and will open this fall, courtesy of a $20 million investment by the Kentucky General Assembly.
Part II will be a life learning center, which is located in Hart County, and offers long-term recovery and workforce readiness, as well as education, job training and soft skills — bridging recovery to employment.
Part III is the office for drug control policy, which opened December 2024 and coordinated all anchor project phases. It guides opioid settlement spending, offers multi-sector advisory committees and links cities and counties to best practices.
Beavers — whose father, Danny, served Caldwell County in every imaginable way — said the landmark program and sprawling regional campus has a chance to save more than just tax dollars.
It can save time, and lives.
PeADD Executive Director Jason Vincent said he expects this discussion to continue in the coming months.
FULL CONVERSATION: