The Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County’s Board of Directors voted May 24 to move forward on building the new Lorain County Crisis Receiving Center on the campus of The Nord Center in the 6100 block of Broadway in the city of Lorain.
“As we all know, addiction and mental health issues have hit Lorain County communities hard. That’s why this project is so long overdue and I look forward to soon seeing shovels in the ground,” said Board Chair Dan Urbin in a news release. “I’d like to thank my fellow Board members, MHARS staff, the project steering committee, Lorain County commissioners and the city of Lorain for bringing this long-awaited facility to fruition.”
The facility will require new construction in a presently vacant area directly north of The Nord Center’s current building.
Perspectus recently was selected as an architect for the Lorain County Crisis Receiving Center.
The next steps will include working with Lorain to ensure the MHARS Board adheres to local requirements.
“I believe this is a solid project for our community,” said Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley, in the release. “All too often, our police are faced with a difficult situation that trained crisis counselors should be handling.
“Our police are often faced with the challenging decision of either taking the person to a hospital emergency room or to jail. This facility will provide a better alternative and one where the person in distress will receive the proper care in a more conducive setting.
“Hopefully, this will help those most in need to get the help they need without putting additional stress on our police and emergency room staffs.”
The Lorain County Crisis Receiving Center will offer “no wrong door” access for those experiencing a mental health or addiction crisis, according to the release.
The MHARS Board will be the building owner and contract with community partners for on-site behavioral health and recovery services.
The facility will include 32 beds for short-term care: 16 for those struggling with mental health issues and 16 for those struggling with addiction, the release said.
It will be staffed by mental health and addiction specialists who are best able to assist when a person experiences a crisis, according to the release.
This center, based on a best practice model used successfully elsewhere in the country, will expand the county’s capacity to provide inpatient detoxification services and strengthen the care continuum for behavioral health and substance use disorder in Lorain County, the release said.
“This facility will fill the current gap in crisis care in Lorain County that will alleviate the burden on some of the most often tapped resources when a crisis occurs – emergency rooms and law enforcement,” said Michael Doud, executive director of the MHARS Board of Lorain County, in the release. “This facility would allow emergency department staff, already stretched thin by the pandemic, and law enforcement to focus their attention on other issues while leaving those in need in the hands of mental health and addiction specialists.”
The Lorain County Crisis Receiving Center will be funded by multiple sources.
Private support for the project has also been received from the Bass Family with additional gifts being secured in collaboration with the Community Foundation of Lorain County, the release said.
While securing funding for this facility began in 2021, planning efforts for the Crisis Receiving Center began in 2018, with a multi-disciplinary project team convened by the Nord Family Foundation, according to the release.
