Columbia's New Mental Health Hub: A Big Step Forward

Columbia is getting a bigger and better mental health center. Burrell Behavioral Health is building a new place on Texas Avenue. This new spot will help more people for a longer time. Right now, the old center on East Walnut Street can only help people for up to 23 hours. The new center will offer up to 72 hours of care. That's a big deal because more time means better treatment. The new center is for adults 18 and up. It's also voluntary, so people can choose to go there. The old center will keep running 24/7 during the construction. It will take about a year to finish. Burrell got $3 million from the city to build this new place. They also help people with substance use problems. The old center already helped a lot of people. From January to May, they saw 1, 588 referrals. They connected 94% of clients to care and kept 37% out of hospitals. This new center is a big step forward. It will help more people in Columbia get the care they need. It's good to see the city investing in mental health.