LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Seven Counties Services has opened new adult and youth crisis centers in Louisville, providing walk-in support for people experiencing mental health or substance use emergencies as an alternative to hospital emergency rooms and jails.

The centers, located at 914 E. Broadway near the Smoketown neighborhood, opened September 8 coinciding with 988 Day, a nationwide observance that raises awareness of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The Adult Crisis Center initially operates from 3 to 11 p.m. daily, while the Youth Crisis Center operates from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week. Both facilities plan to expand to 24-hour operations within the next year.

Clinical and medical staff at the centers assess people in crisis, develop treatment plans, and connect them with additional services and community resources. People who contact 988 may also be referred to the centers for in-person support.

"Somebody is going to walk in here on the worst day of their life and find someone waiting for them," Seven Counties Services President and CEO Dave Pankotai said in a statement. "That is progress."

The project emerged from roughly two years of community planning following a behavioral health needs assessment that identified a gap in Louisville's crisis response system. Louisville Metro Government provided startup funding, while more than $1 million in support came from Mayor's office and Metro Council resources. The Louisville Metro Police Department plans to train officers to use the centers as an alternative to arresting individuals or transporting them to hospitals.

Brian Schaefer, an associate professor at the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences, said the centers address a critical need. "What was missing was that third leg, a place to go that isn't a jail cell and it's not an emergency room," Schaefer said.

The centers complement existing behavioral health services in Louisville, including the 988 Lifeline, Seven Counties' Crisis & Information Center, a 911 crisis call diversion program that directs certain calls to non-police responders, and mobile crisis response teams. Community partners addressing housing and homelessness, including the Coalition for the Homeless and Louisville's Homeless Engagement and Assessment Response Team, will collaborate with the new centers.

Seven Counties plans to bill Medicaid and private insurance for eligible services to help sustain operations. The University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences will evaluate the Adult Crisis Center to assess its effectiveness and identify remaining gaps in the city's behavioral health crisis response system.