Crisis Observation Center Open House
A Crisis Observation Center will be opening at the Central Iowa Shelter & Services (CISS) building on 1420 Mulberry Street with a ribbon-cutting being held on Thursday, July 10 at 4 p.m. and tours of the building taking place from 3 – 6 p.m. The center will serve adults in mental health crisis. It will be open 24/7 and staffed by medical and mental health professionals from Eyerly Ball and the Mobile Crisis Response Team.
There are periods when individuals experience a mental health crisis and are taken to the hospital or jail when the distress could be resolved in a more community-based setting. “The Crisis Observation Center will expand crisis services by offering assessments, interventions and referrals by a team of crisis trained mental health professionals including social workers, nurses, discharge planners and a nurse practitioner” said Eyerly Ball CEO Earl Kelly. Adults can walk-in or family members or police officers can bring adults to the Crisis Observation Center where there are chairs available for adults to stay for up to 23 hours.
Tony Timm, Executive Director of Central Iowa Shelter & Services said “this is a great opportunity for our organization to partner with Eyerly Ball to have immediate access to mental health services for the people we serve at CISS. In many instances this can be an alternative to jail or a hospital for people in mental health crisis.”
There is no cost to the individual to access care at the Crisis Observation Center, which was coordinated through several partnerships and is funded by Polk County. Polk County Supervisor Angela Connolly said “the Crisis Observation Center is a perfect example of partners coming together to meet a community need, in this case that need is better access to mental health services. It is my hope that this is only one step in creating a more efficient system where mental health providers, law enforcement and hospitals work together to best serve their patients and our community.”
About Central Iowa Shelter & Services
Founded in 1992, Central Iowa Shelter & Services is a nonprofit organization that provides free shelter to homeless adults regardless of physical or emotional conditions and facilitates their move toward self-sufficiency. For more information, visit centraliowashelter.org.
About Eyerly Ball Community Mental Health Services
Eyerly Ball provides the complete continuum of adult mental health services, from outpatient therapy and medication management, to community-based services, to residential services, care coordination and crisis services. They serve five counties in central Iowa, serve over 6,000 clients annually and employ over 200 staff. Eyerly Ball partners with area health providers to meet our clients whole health needs. To learn more visit eyerlyball.org.