Mental Health Association to offer 24-hour walk-in services in September

Gabrielle Lewis, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
·3 min read

Jun. 29—The Mental Health Association of Frederick County will extend its walk-in services to be open 24 hours a day at the county's crisis stabilization center, slated to open on Montevue Lane in September.

The association will be the primary operator of Frederick County's planned crisis stabilization center, according to Andrea Walker, director of behavioral health services at the Frederick County Health Department.

Walker said the center will open in two phases. Phase one, which is expected to open in September, will include recliners available up to 23 hours a day for patients who require a higher level of care.

Phase 2 will open sometime next year, Walker said, and include eight beds. Two of the eight beds will be designated as family beds for children or adolescents who require a parent or guardian to stay with them during their visit.

"We anticipate and expect that both our first responder partners ... as well as Sheppard Pratt mobile crisis will be bringing people to the crisis stabilization center, as well as walk-ins," Walker said.

Shannon Aleshire, the CEO of the Mental Health Association, said the association will still be offering its other crisis intervention services at its location on Jefferson Street in Frederick.

The services include their 24-hour call center which accepts calls from local, state and national lines through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline as well as their outpatient mental health clinic that provides therapeutic and medication management services.

"When we started down this path of a crisis stabilization center, it was going to be for adults," she said. "As we went through the pandemic and started really paying attention ... we said, 'No, we're going to miss the mark if that's what we do,' and so, we designed the facility with serving both youth and adults in mind."

Aleshire said during fiscal year 2023, the association handled about the same number of walk-ins as it did last fiscal year — but the number of youths coming in has continued to increase.

"When I talk to the staff of walk-in, the one word that they use to describe the state that our youth are in right now is, 'overwhelmed,'" she said.

Data from the most recent Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey revealed increases of suicidal ideation and plans to commit suicide among middle and high school students since the COVID-19 pandemic.

In comparison to other counties in the state, Frederick County has the one of the highest rates per 100,000 people who have reported experiencing suicidal ideation and rates per 100,000 people at risk for severe depression, according to data from Mental Health America.

From the start of fiscal year 2023 to May, the Mental Health Association received more than 56,000 calls to its call center and 1,610 walk-ins, according to Rebecca Layman, the association's director of development and marketing.

For walk-ins, 42% of individuals were under the age of 18, and 56% of individuals were under the age of 25.

Aleshire said the planned center is the "missing piece in our crisis continuum in Frederick County" because it will fill in the blank spot where crisis stabilization is needed.

"We've been putting this puzzle together for a really long time, and so, it's really exciting for folks in the community," she said.