LORAIN, Ohio — The doors are officially open to a new 24-hour crisis center in Lorain County, marking the culmination of an 8-year journey to revolutionize how people access recovery care.
The Lorain County Crisis Recovery Center on South Broadway in Lorain supports individuals and families during mental health and addiction crises 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
For Falisha Hiser, who has been in recovery for two years, the new facility represents hope for others struggling with addiction.
"I was an IV fentanyl user, so I had a lot of run-ins with law enforcement, was revived by EMTs a pretty long run," Hiser said. Her final jail stay was a wake-up call. With help from the community organization "Let's Get Real," she began her recovery journey.
"It was something I had to do to get my life back," Hiser said.
Community planning for the crisis center began in 2017, following the realization that a change was needed.
"We need to do something different in the community and arresting our way out of addiction, out of mental health crisis management, it's not working so we need to figure things out," said Michael Doud, CEO of Mental Health Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County. “We may not get it right 100% of the time but we promise to address any issues and challenges and make this a successful project that the community will use.”
The 30,000-square-foot facility features 16 beds for mental health stabilization and 16 beds for addiction treatment. The center operates with a living room-like environment designed to make people feel comfortable.
"It's designed around a 23 hour observation where we're meant to assess, triage and get them dispositioned to the right level of care," said Dan Schiffbauer, CEO of Riveon Mental Health and Recovery.“We are going to revolutionize how people access care, no longer will they have to be nervous or think about stigma, or worry about whether or not they’re going to be looked at poorly or with prejudice. They can come here to an environment that is comfort, confident, secure and welcoming.”
Whether someone walks in on their own or arrives with law enforcement assistance, leaders said access to care is no longer fragmented. The facility operates as a one-stop shop that won't turn anyone away. "[With] a lot of recovery centers you have to call, see if they have beds and this is something completely new to the community you could just walk in, hey I need help and they're right there," Hiser said.
Now working as a peer support, Hiser offers encouragement to others beginning their recovery journey.
"It's not too late to get help, it's going to take time, it's going to be hard, it's not going to be easy, but the outcome of getting sober and staying sober, it's going to give you everything back that you've lost in your addiction," Hiser said.
The $19 million facility was funded through a combination of private and public money. It also houses the regional call center for the 988 suicide and crisis hotline. The facility includes a secure area for police to bring in patients, which was named in honor of Lorain Officer Phillip Wagner, who was killed in the line of duty over the summer.
