Crisis Response: Oaklawn breaks ground on South Bend crisis center

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- Someone to call, someone to respond and someplace to go-- that is the three-tiered approach to crisis response that Oaklawn is making a reality in South Bend.  

Tuesday, Oaklawn leaders are celebrating because that “someplace to go” is under construction and ready to open as early as this winter.  

“Who would have ever thought three or four years ago that we would be standing here at a groundbreaking place to actually be involved in housing mentally ill patients as opposed to sending them to incarceration?” said Pastor J.B. Williams of South Bend, representing Faith in Indiana.      

Renovations are officially underway for Oaklawn’s first 24-hour mental health crisis response center in South Bend.

“Anyone can walk in. Police can drop people off, family can bring people in,” said Laurie Nafziger, Oaklawn’s president and CEO. “I’ll clarify though, it’s just for adults. It's voluntary. So, if people come and they stay a while and they want to leave, they can leave.”    

Nafziger said it can be thought of like an urgent care for mental health. Someone in crisis will now have a safe space to be assessed, de-escalated, stabilized, and linked to the appropriate resources. She said stays will likely average about four hours.  

“We see the need, and we are committed to filling this gap in the behavioral health service world,” Nafziger said. “And by filling this gap, we are going to be able to help lots of people in crisis.”

The center, 3,200 square feet, with an operating budget of $1.7 million a year, will operate on a “living room” model. This means instead of hospital beds, patients will sit in recliners.  

With around 15 recliners in the space and a staff of about 25, Oaklawn estimates the center will see 3,600 patients a year.  

“It did start with the community coming together, and Faith in Indiana in particular, raising their hand saying, ‘hey, we can do better,’” said South Bend Mayor James Mueller.    

Now, some of the stress on law enforcement throughout St. Joseph County can be alleviated.  

“I’ve been a huge proponent of this crisis center, and the ability to help those in mental health crisis other than ending up in our jail,” said St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman. “That is not the solution in dealing with mental health crisis.”  

“Incarceration is the only place they had to take them, but now, they can receive the kind of help that they need,” Williams said.  

New mobile mental health crisis response teams will also be based at the center, located at 420 N. Niles Ave.

Construction should take four to five months, according to Oaklawn, and the center could open its doors by this winter.