At the end of this year, MetroHealth’s Psychiatric Emergency Department in Cleveland Heights will be closing, a change announced in October.
Metro’s Behavioral Health Hospital, which is next door, will remain open.
Metro says anyone in crisis should always be taken to the closest emergency room for help.
Our News 5 investigators recently discovered long wait times in local ERs, especially for those suffering from mental health issues.
RELATED: Mental health patients forced to wait much longer in emergency rooms, some 'languishing'
The Psych ED at Metro opened in 2024 following the closure of the psychiatric emergency services unit at St. Vincent Charity Community Health Center.
In 2026, similar services will be returning to that campus with the hope of saving time, money, and lives.
"We need more support; we don’t need less.”
I talked with a Cleveland woman wanting to advocate for people with mental illness, but asking that her face and name not be used. She explained why.
"It's not just my journey, it’s my entire family’s journey," she said. "And it’s specifically my brother’s journey, and I want to be respectful of that."
Her brother has schizophrenia.
"He’s a great guy," she said. "He’s a really fantastic person, and he’s caring."
It can be tough, she said, and thanked mental health professionals, often a thankless job, she said, but whom she's grateful for.
"It literally took one of my brother’s counselors to sit down with me and just say, ‘Look, the way that your brother processes through information is different,'" she said.
The good times are good, she said, which are most of the time. But the bad are very bad, and it can happen quickly.
"The illness is the biggest stressor because there are relapses, if you will," she said. "Flareups, if you will."
It is in those times of immediate crisis, she believes, that improvements can be made.
"We need folks who know how to de-escalate," she said. "We need folks who know how to read the situation very quickly and help to get to a place of level, back to a place of being level."
"This is for anyone who’s in a behavioral health crisis," said Eric Morse, president and CEO of The Centers.
The Centers is partnering with Cuyahoga County and its ADAMHS Board to build a new $28 million behavioral health crisis center, set to open in September.
"You're going to be assessed within five minutes of walking in the door,” said Morse.
The new behavioral health crisis center will be housed in a three-story medical building that's currently being remodeled on the old St. Vincent Charity Medical Center Campus in Cleveland’s Central Neighborhood, and is expected to provide urgent mental health and addiction care for an estimated 12,000 adults a year.
He said you can walk in, be dropped off by a friend or family member, or be brought by law enforcement or emergency responders.
"So, while we will have medical staff there 24/7— we'll have psychiatric providers, psychiatrists, nurses, social workers— most of the staff are actually peer-support workers," said Morse.
He said keeping people in community during a behavioral health crisis is important.
"These are all the lounge chairs," said Morse while showing the blueprints.
The first floor will be a 40-chair crisis recovery center and walk-in behavioral health urgent care with a pharmacy. Morse said the goal is to reduce the need for ER visits, jail bookings and psychiatric hospitalizations.
"Someone walking into our center will cost approximately half of what it would cost for them to go to an emergency room," said Morse.
The second floor will offer residential level of care. The third floor will be for outpatient care with a clinic.
"We can solve this problem if we just bring the right tools to bear to help people," said Morse. "To help people recover. To help them get back to work. To help them get back to their families. And to stop their suffering.”
Ohio has been working to build out its crisis continuum. It has been a priority of Governor Dewine to use millions in American Rescue Plan Act funds to help Ohio counties strengthen mental health and addiction services.
News 5 was there when the Lorain County Crisis Recovery Center opened in October.
RELATED: Lorain County opens $19 million crisis center for mental health, addiction care
We recently followed up with them to see how things are going.
"The numbers served in the first 30 days, I didn’t see that coming," said Michael Doud, director of the Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County.
Doud said they served 200 clients unduplicated in the first month. He said it points to the need in the community.
"I was expecting a lower number, quite honestly," he said. "And I think it speaks to the work that we’ve done prior to opening the doors. We spent a lot of time engaging the community, faith-based leaders, law enforcement, and civic leaders to get the message out."
He said he's happy to report that the center is being used as intended, and said the model works.
The Cleveland sister who spoke with News 5 said she's hopeful for the new center in Cuyahoga County, not just for her brother, but for all families dealing with a behavioral health crisis.
"Because this is stressful," she said. "You know, it’s stressful. We love our brother. We love our brother. He’s valuable to us. He’s a valued member of our family, and we believe that he’s a valued member of our community. So, having this kind of space, this place, to be able to help him be the best that he can be is incredible."
Funding for the new behavioral health crisis center comes from a combination of sources, including the ADAMHS Board, ARPA dollars, and the county’s opioid settlement fund.
ADAMHS Board CEO sent News 5 a statement saying their goal is to help create a central access point within the crisis continuum.
The ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County is committed to ensuring that all county residents have access to high-quality mental health, addiction treatment, and recovery services. Our partnership with Cuyahoga County and The Centers to create a new behavioral health crisis center reflects our ongoing efforts to strengthen the local crisis continuum of care and respond to the evolving needs of our community. We envision the new facility as a place where people experiencing a behavioral health crisis are met with care, dignity, and appropriate treatment in a supportive environment. The facility will also serve as a support for families, first responders, and hospitals across Cuyahoga County by reducing the need for unnecessary emergency department visits and interactions with law enforcement. Our goal is to help create a central access point within the crisis continuum; one that meets people where they are and connects them to the help they need.
While demand for behavioral health services has not gone down, the money has for 2026.
The new year will bring challenges amid a changing landscape for behavioral health in Cuyahoga County.
The county has tightened its budget. That means less money for the ADAMHS Board, which uses its budget to fund about 200 programs within more than 70 agencies that provide behavioral health services across the county.
Agencies like Frontline Services, a private nonprofit agency in Cleveland, are having to adjust their budgets.
"We lost, well, the agency lost about a million dollars in funding, and most of that is in the crisis programs," said Rick Oliver, Frontline's director of crisis services.
He said for them, the 20% reduction in funding they receive from the ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County has resulted in eight layoffs and four positions left unfilled, including at their call center.
They also discontinued a program that followed up with people who had been recommended services.
He said it’s difficult as behavioral health providers are being stretched and finding ways to make sure people don’t fall through the cracks.
"So, we’re trying to let people know that our crisis services are available," said Oliver. "They are free, and calling in for help, at least our staff can help direct people to services that are available."
He encourages anyone with questions or experiencing a behavioral health crisis to call them at 988.
He said they get about 180 calls a day to the hotline. Many have depression, anxiety or suicidal thoughts.
Oliver said about 90% are helped over the phone, 10% need more services.
Frontline will send out a licensed clinician and a peer to do an assessment and help connect people to resources.
