New center that helps people in crisis finds Dayton home

May 26—The search for a site for a new crisis center is over, just two months after Dayton's zoning board rejected a request to place it in a property in the midtown area, just south of downtown.

RI International and Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug & Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) have found a home for the Crisis Now Receiving Center, which will serve people in the throes of a mental health or substance abuse crisis.

The center will open at Elizabeth Place along South Edwin C. Moses Boulevard in the Carillon neighborhood, likely in the fall.

"We are pleased to provide this new 24/7 level of care to those in the Greater Dayton region," said Paul Galdys, deputy CEO of RI International, which will operate the center.

The center will have 16 recliner chairs for patients so they can receive treatment from behavioral health professionals.

The center is the final piece of a model that gives community members in crisis someone to call (the Montgomery County Crisis Now Hotline at 833-580-2255); someone to come to them (Mobile Crisis Response Teams) and, soon, somewhere to go (the crisis center).

"This innovative approach to providing behavioral health services will give hope to those who are searching for help and provide a new resource to families looking to connect their loved ones to available services," said Helen Jones-Kelley, executive director of Montgomery County ADAMHS.

The hotline already has received more than 3,500 calls from people seeking help, and mobile teams, with trained professionals, were dispatched and respond to a small number of calls.

Soon, people in need immediate services and care will be taken to the crisis center.

RI International and ADAMHS originally wanted to put the 24/7 protective care facility at the former AAA building at 825 S. Ludlow St.

But zoning variances were required because the property was located within 1,000 feet of a school (Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School) and another protective care facility (Daybreak's emergency shelter).

In late March, the Dayton Board of Zoning Appeals denied the request, which came after critical comments from some residents and school supporters.

They said there was no reason the center needed to be at that property, and they claimed it would harm the school and oversaturate the area with social service providers.

Critics, including some residents and school supporters, said there was no good reason why the center needed to be at that property, and they claimed putting it there would harm the school and oversaturate the area with social service providers.

___

(c)2022 the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio)

Visit the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio) at www.daytondailynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.