Maine's first crisis center for mental health needs opens in Portland
PORTLAND (WGME) –- There is help coming from the Governor's Office to address mental health needs.
Governor Janet Mills announced the state’s first “comprehensive crisis receiving center” Thursday.
The new facility on Elm Street in Portland will be providing Mainers experiencing a behavioral health crisis with expert care.
This announcement is part of $9.3 million from Mills in MaineCare payments to 442 mental health and substance use disorder providers.
The Department of Health and Human Services contracted with Spurwink to develop and implement the crisis center, which will soon be open 24/7.
It’s run by a team of professionals to help bridge the missing services gap and get people the help they need immediately.
There are eight individual rooms along with a large living room and a team of peer support providers, case managers, nurses and clinicians.
The senior director says this is a place for people to go regardless of insurance or need and will keep Mainers out of hospital emergency departments.
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“Often there are 20 people in one ED or in another in Portland waiting for behavioral health help at any given time,” Spurwink Services Adult Behavioral Health Senior Director Ben Strick said. “So the idea that we can provide services in a different way, decompress the ED and then save that service for the people that really need it.”
Services at the center are currently available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. They will operate on a 24/7 basis once they have enough staff to operate.