FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — After being open for around two years, a mental health crisis center in Northwest Arkansas has shut its doors.
After the original provider pulled out, a new provider is needed to take on the Northwest Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Unit in Fayetteville.
Gavin Lesnick, Deputy Chief of Communications with the Arkansas Department of Human Services says the Northwest Arkansas unit is not perinatally closed.
“We’re working to identify a new provider. So, we intend to reopen the NWA crisis stabilization unit we’re confident that we’ll find a provider,” said Lesnick.
The Northwest Arkansas Crisis Stabilization opened in June of 2019. It served Arkansans in Washington, Benton, Carroll, and Madison Counties with mental health needs.
“So, the CSU [crisis stabilization unit] was a breath of fresh air. It was a bed for someone when oftentimes there wasn’t a bed available in Northwest Arkansas,” said Sarah Moore, co-founder of the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition in NWA. “It was a connection to services that many times vulnerable individuals needed, it was a lifeline."
She says with the closing of the Northwest Arkansas center many people are not getting the help they need and are instead filling hospitals and jails.
As of now, there are three stabilization centers across Arkansas, including one in Sebastian County, who are taking in some Northwest Arkansans with the referral from law enforcement. However, not having a unit in Northwest Arkansas defeats the purpose.
“The goal of all crisis stabilization units is to decrease the misuse of resources,” said the Director of 5 West Crisis Stabilization in River Valley, Joey Potts. She says it takes law-enforcement away from their jobs to drive people to the River Valley location.
Potts says with a surge of COVID cases, it’s more important than ever to utilize these resources
“So, people who don’t need to be in the emergency room, don’t need to be in ambulances, don’t need to be in jail but need the benefit of the crisis stabilization unit,” Potts said. “So that’s always been the goal."
5News reached out to the Department of Human Services about this. They said they are looking for a new provider, but have no timeline of when the Northwest Arkansas location could reopen.