Oklahoma City leaders broke ground on a new mental health crisis center, designed to provide critical services and ease the strain on emergency rooms, jails, and first responders. The $12 million facility, funded primarily through MAPS 4, will include 32 beds for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis.
Mental Health Support
The center will offer emergency assessments, stabilization, and connections to ongoing support. A dedicated entrance will be available for first responders bringing people in. Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt emphasized the importance of the center, stating, “Today, we are choosing to be a community who opens its doors, a community that meets people with compassion, a community that believes every life is worth another chance.”
Joshua Anderson, interim commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, highlighted the center’s role in reducing strain on emergency services. The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services will operate the facility, which will be located in the heart of Oklahoma City.
The center will be named after Robert Ravitz, the former Oklahoma County chief public defender, in honor of his years of advocacy for individuals facing mental health challenges. The 27,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in two years, with leaders emphasizing that its impact will be measured not by its size but by the lives it changes.
Original reporting: Oklahoma City News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
