A new multi-service crisis response center is set to open in Kirkland’s Totem Lake neighborhood in 2024, said the city of Lake Forest Park in a news release on Wednesday.
The center is “dedicated to serving the behavioral health needs of community members across north and northeast King County,” said the release.
It will be run by Connections Health Solutions, a national behavioral health crisis care leader.
The center will be located at 11410 NE 122nd Way in Kirkland’s Totem Lake neighborhood, which is near Evergreen Hospital and Interstate 405.
The center will be the first of its kind in King County to provide a range of care services, from walk-in mental health urgent care to continued stabilization of behavioral health or substance use crises, said the release.
“The new Connections crisis response center adds a critical element in the continuum of behavioral health care for community members in Kirkland and throughout the region,” said City of Kirkland Mayor Penny Sweet. “This new center complements the Regional Crisis Response Agency announced in 2022, which will deploy Crisis Responders on some 911 calls for community members experiencing behavioral health crises across the north county region. This announcement culminates a year-long effort by Kirkland and our north King County city partners to proactively address critical behavioral health needs in our communities.”
Kenmore Mayor Nigel Herbig believes the center is an important step for the community’s health.
“The arrival of Connections Health Solutions represents a critical step toward needed access to dedicated behavioral health crisis care resources in North King County,” said Herbig. “A crisis does not only occur during business hours. In turn, our community must have additional resources when making an appointment or a waiting room does not suffice.”
The clinic uses the term “no wrong door” to show that it will be open to everyone regardless of the severity of need or insurance status, and care will be available 24/7 with no appointment required.
“Crisis stabilization centers are an effective and important tool in our state’s efforts to address behavioral health issues and reform approaches to behavioral health care and public safety,” said Gov. Jay Inslee. “Our communities need a place where people in crisis can go to receive compassionate and focused behavioral health care. Programs like this that allow for first responder referrals decrease the use of jails and emergency rooms, which are not well-equipped to address these needs. I’m proud of the investments our state and our communities are making in these programs.”
The center was developed through the partnership of Connections Health Solutions with the cities of Bothell, Kenmore, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, and Shoreline. $21.52 million in financial support from grants from the State of Washington and King County was given to start the facility.
“Providing a 24/7 place for people in crisis to receive effective care helps make recovery possible as part of a connected behavioral health system that provides people with the care they need when they need it in their communities,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “King County invested $11.5 million of state and local dollars toward this crisis center in Kirkland, and it’s the start of what we can achieve together when it comes to community behavioral health.”
The new crisis center will fill a void of coordinated behavioral health care in King County by providing community members in crisis with three important resources: someone to call, someone to respond, and somewhere to go, said the release.
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