(WRGB) — When emotional distress hits, too many people feel they have only one place to turn: the Emergency Department. In Albany, two walk-in programs are working to change that by offering a calmer, community-based option that treats mental health with the same urgency and respect as physical health.
Tori Daniels, DSW, LCSW, the outpatient crisis diversion supervisor for The Family Room and Living Room programs, and Mary Loughran, a peer counselor, are highlighting how their services aim to reduce stigma and make it easier to get help early. One of the biggest barriers to care is stigma, and the programs are designed to send a clear message that it’s OK to ask for help before a situation becomes a crisis.
The Living Room and Family Room are walk-in mental health support centers that do not require an appointment. They are intended to provide a calm, comfortable alternative to the Emergency Department for people experiencing emotional distress, anxiety or a developing crisis. The programs are described as similar to an urgent care for mental health, offering support without judgment and meeting people where they are.
The Living Room, which serves adults, opened in 2018. It is staffed by clinicians, peer support specialists and care coordinators and offers immediate support and counseling, coping and de-escalation strategies, and connections to ongoing care and community resources. The program has maintained an approximately 98% diversion rate from the Emergency Department.
The Family Room, designed for children, adolescents and their families, opened in early 2024 following the success of The Living Room model for adults. It expanded this year to serve children as young as 4.5 years old, addressing what the program describes as a critical gap in early mental health support. Services include licensed clinical support, family engagement and guidance, case management and referrals, and a safe space for young people and families to calm down, regroup and be heard. The focus is early intervention to help prevent issues from escalating into more serious crises.
The programs are responding to a reality that many individuals, especially young people, end up in Emergency Departments during mental health crises not because they need medical care, but because there are few alternatives. Supporters say The Living Room and Family Room reduce unnecessary Emergency Department visits, provide faster and more appropriate support, and create a more humane, less intimidating experience in a home-like setting.