Originally published in South Seattle Emerald, July 30, 2024

It’s finally happening. As the parent of a seriously mentally ill teen who the system has failed repeatedly, I am thrilled the Connections Health Solutions crisis care center opens next week. Like rain after a long drought, we have the beginnings of a sustainable solution. There’s long been a need for somewhere to go, and today we have a starting place.

Last March, The Seattle Times reported that the five North Sound cities of Bothell, Kenmore, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, and Shoreline were uniting to support an independent, multiservice crisis response center to serve those communities and beyond. The goal was to give North Sound citizens a place to go when a crisis was imminent. No one is turned away due to locale or health insurance status; there is no wrong door in the Connections model. This feature of the model feeds my optimism. I’ve spent a lot of time on Lyft rides on my way to Children’s Hospital because my teen was in a psychotic episode. When we got to the emergency room, she would be checked out, given her usual medications, and sent home because there were no available beds. Even though this center is for adults only, it’s closer, and they’d help as much as possible and direct us to more suitable care.

This is slightly better than going to Children’s emergency room, but we need way more support for young people with serious mental illness. While the levy’s first crisis care center has not been named, I hope the crisis care center levy’s implementation prioritizes youth for the first center. Children’s Hospital is at capacity, and youth are one of our most vulnerable populations.

It took over one year after the announcement for the Kirkland center to open. The centers promised by the levy will open in 2026 at the earliest and continue to open (and operate) until 2030. It’s clear that private industry partners like Connections have a blueprint for the region to follow. Maybe the Metropolitan King County Council should be looking at their model as one to replicate throughout the region. It might be prudent to make this center one of the five, so the rest can quickly follow with the council’s chosen partner. Connections has expressed interest in operating the five centers.

Connections Kirkland is projecting an annual capacity of 14,000 patients per year. Only time will tell if their center meets or exceeds it. I am concerned that the region’s needs may exceed their capacity. And, if that happens, what’s Connections’ plan, since no one is turned away? Do we end up where we are now, dependent on mobile crisis response and the broken web of support that’s in place? Many questions are still to be answered.

With an inaugural crisis center launching next week, we are witnessing a sea change in the approach to the behavioral health and substance use crisis in our region. Mental health support has been neglected for too long; Connections Kirkland is a great first step. Hopefully, the promised crisis care centers will come to fruition as quickly as Connections did.