NEW YORK STATE ANNOUNCES OPENING OF INTENSIVE CRISIS STABILIZATION CENTER TO SERVE THE NORTH COUNTRY

The state Office of Mental Health and state Office of Addiction Services and Supports today announced the opening of an intensive crisis stabilization center in the North Country to provide voluntary urgent care services for individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use crises and needing immediate treatment. Located in the Clinton County city of Plattsburgh, the $9.6 million Champlain Valley Family Center will help reduce reliance on emergency room care for behavioral health issues and address top regional health concerns, including suicide risk and increased overdose rates.

“Crisis stabilization centers are an important component in our efforts to provide New Yorkers with behavioral health support in a welcoming and supportive environment,” OMH Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said. “In addition to providing a wide range of services aimed at stabilizing someone in crisis, the Champlain Valley Family Center will help connect individuals and families with other supports within the community to aid in their recovery. This center, like others being developed statewide, reflect Governor Kathy Hochul’s ongoing commitment to helping all individuals access to quality integrated behavioral health care.”

“The opening of this new intensive crisis stabilization center in the North Country marks a critical step forward in ensuring that individuals facing a behavioral health crisis can quickly access care,” OASAS Commissioner Dr. Chinazo Cunningham said. “This center directly addresses the urgent need for 24/7 addiction and mental health services, giving people immediate, life-saving help right in their own community. Being able to access help and resources close to where they live will help save lives and connect more people to services that support their health and well-being.”

The center will help stabilize individuals in crisis and will connect them to community services and supports within the state’s system of care to ensure connections with necessary follow-up services. The center will also coordinate with local mobile crisis providers, law enforcement, and community treatment and support services.

Dually certified by OMH and OASAS, the center will operate 24-hours per day, seven days per week. Services provided include screenings, assessments, therapeutic interventions, peer support, ongoing observation, and discharge and aftercare planning.

OMH provided Champlain Valley Family Network with $7 million in operating funds, $1.67 million in startup funding, and $1 million of capital funding to establish the new center, which is expected to serve up to 200 individuals monthly. The facility will be staffed with psychiatric nurse practitioners, registered nurses, mental health counselors, credentialed alcoholism and substance abuse counselors, and certified peers to provide rapid, holistic treatment and serve as an effective, and cost-efficient alternative to often-stressful hospital emergency departments.

The center will help address several concerning trends in the North Country region, including suicide rates in Clinton, Essex, and Franklin counties that exceed the state average, and a pronounced increase in opioid overdoses over the past decade. The facility will also help address the demand on emergency department care in the area, which has been exacerbated by a lack of community-based services. 

The Champlain Valley Family Center is the second state-funded intensive crisis stabilization center to open. Helio Health opened a center in Onondaga County in December 2023.

New Yorkers experiencing or who know someone experiencing a behavioral health issue may call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which connects them to trained crisis counselors 24/7 to help those thinking about suicide, struggling with substance use, a mental health crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress. Call, text or chat 988 for crisis support.

Likewise, New Yorkers struggling with an addiction, or whose loved ones are struggling, can find help and hope by calling the state’s toll-free, 24-hour, 7-day-a-week HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369) or by texting HOPENY (Short Code 467369). Find available addiction treatment including crisis/detox, inpatient, residential, or outpatient care on the OASAS website.