Immediately when you walk into the center, you are greeted with couches, armchairs, and a skylight in the middle of the room.
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PORTLAND, Maine —
It’s an alternative place to go for people experiencing a mental health crisis in Portland, and the model could soon be replicated in Lewiston.
The Living Room Crisis Center in Portland is run by the non-profit Spurwink along with the Office of Behavioral Health.
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Immediately when you walk into the center, you are greeted with couches, armchairs, and a skylight in the middle of the room.
You’ll find a similar setup in any of their private meeting rooms.
Megan DuEst is the Program Director at the Living Room Crisis Center. She says it all has a purpose.
“Sometimes there’s a lot of stigma associated to reaching out for care. We’ve been very intentional about what our space looks like, how we offer services, how we’re including people in our decision-making,” she said.
Gov. Janet Mills recently proposed a supplemental budget, which includes funding to start a similar center in Lewiston.
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The budget provides $1.5 million to get the new center up and running.
It’s a part of her broader plan to incorporate crisis receiving centers all across the state, which she discussed during her State of the State Address.
DuEst says these kinds of services are needed now.
“It’s the only model where you can walk in somewhere around the clock 24/7 and meet with somebody. So the problem may not be solved that day the larger issue may not be addressed, but you’re having face-to-face contact with someone that cares, it’s meaningful, and then we’re going to say ‘come back tomorrow,'” she said.
The center provides several behavioral health services, including substance use recovery resources and peer support services.
There are also on-site nurses, and clients can get help with medications such as anti-depressants and anti-psychotics.
The variety of services they provide allows them to help eliminate other crisis responders in the state that are overloaded.
“We’ve struggled with the capacity with what the state has for behavior health services right now, there’s a really long waitlist,” DuEst said. “If we can provide some sort of interim support or care in the moment that is sometimes enough for people.”
