Valley Community Services Board has purchased property for its crisis center and plans to break ground later this year.
The property, located on Wilson Boulevard in Fishersville, near Tinkling Springs Road, will keep the center in close proximity to Augusta Health but will move it away from residential homes that were at the crux of a debate over safety in January.
Executive Director Kimberly McClanahan said this was the first location that VCSB had explored when it began looking for properties. She said the land backs up to a trucking company.
“We have purchased the property, finally, and the Department of Behavioral Health has continued to pledge money toward it, so we are moving forward with it,” she said. “We recognize that the money that the department is pledging at this point is either we’re going to use it or it’s going to go away, and we’re never going to get it again in any near future.”
The Department of Behavioral Health has committed nearly $10 million toward the construction of the facility. The total cost is expected to be approximately $15 million.
The crisis center has a goal to open in 2027. The mental-health facility would help meet the need for behavioral health treatment in the region serving those in suicidal and substance abuse crisis.
In Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro, the number of deaths by suicide is almost double the state and national average. A community needs assessment report by Augusta Health ranked mental health and substance abuse both in the top five needs in the area.
“It has been a long time coming, and we’re very excited about being able to move forward with that,” McClanahan told AFP.
Background on location
In January, VCSB was considering a location at the intersection of Lifecore Drive and Village Creek Drive in Fishersville, closer to Augusta Health and its Outpatient Pavilion.
However, large opposition from homeowners nearby forced VCSB to withdraw an application for proffers needed from the Augusta County Board of Supervisors related to building height and overall size.
Homeowners agreed the center was needed but didn’t want it in their backyard. Opponents to the previous location feared a decrease in property values and worried about the safety of children, students and neighbors. They also voiced concerns about a potential increase in traffic and a lack of privacy for those receiving care at the crisis center.
Breaking down plans for the crisis center
The crisis center will house two different programs: a Crisis Receiving Center and a Crisis Stabilization Unit.
The receiving center will operate as a 24-hour observation unit where someone may check themselves in on a voluntary basis or come in via a temporary detention order. When the person in crisis arrives at the center, they will be greeted by a peer support specialist, someone with lived experience, which has been proven to be successful at the intervention level. The person would also receive a medical evaluation. The plan is for the observation area to have 16 chairs or recliners for patients in crisis and would alleviate pressures related to crisis events at the local emergency room.
The stabilization unit would be for people who aren’t ready to be released after that initial observation period and need care for a longer period of time. The patient would continue to get peer support as well as other therapy or medication to help get them stable and in a position to go home. Plans are to have 16 flex beds for detox or mental health treatment. Most people at the stabilization unit would go home after four or five days, but they could stay up to 15 days if needed.
The goal is to also move crisis co-responders to the building so that all the crisis services and responders are in one location.
If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org
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Crystal Graham
