Elkhart County welcoming new walk-in crisis center

GOSHEN, Ind. -- Oaklawn treatment center cut the ribbon for its new urgent care style walk-in behavioral health treatment center, built for those facing a mental health or substance abuse crisis in Elkhart County.

Oaklawn hosted an open house Wednesday evening at its Goshen campus, where the community came to see the new facility and hear how this program could be a lifesaving resource.

The Vice President of Access and Crisis Services for Oaklawn, Kelli Liechty, explained that this facility is different from other community resources. Similar to an urgent care, anyone can come in during a crisis moment and receive help from a wholistic care team, rather than waiting for a scheduled appointment.

“Doors are open, and it certainly will connect people to ongoing care and follow up is critical, but to be able to have a team who can meet them in that moment is amazing, we’re real excited to be able to do that,” said Liechty.

Liechty went on to explain that the crisis center would have not been possible without the community support Oaklawn received.

“It really has been a community collaboration. This center is open because of state grant dollars, county dollars, city dollars. We’ve had a steering community with representatives from all of our major partners in Elkhart County, so we’re so pleased to be opening this for the community, with that community support,” explained Liechty.

The center will be staffed with master's level therapists, nurses, case managers, medical assistants, and those who have gone through their own crisis, who can use their stories to help others.

It will open to the public on Tuesday, Oct. 1 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days a week. The center hopes to extend those hours to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, once their staff increases. Then, they hope to eventually have the doors open 24/7, able to provide help to those in a crisis at any time.