New Jefferson County Mental Health Facility To Open In 2022

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Jefferson County will be home to a new mental health facility that will be funded by the State of Alabama and the Alabama Department of Mental Health. The center is expected to open in May of 2022.

The center, the fourth of its kind in Alabama, will serve individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders, expanding access to care more broadly across the area. The location of the center will be along Beacon Parkway and will bring more than 150 new jobs to the county.

The current Crisis Centers are located at AltaPointe Health in Mobile, WellStone in Huntsville, and the Montgomery Area Mental Health Authority in Montgomery.

"We want every citizen in Jefferson County to feel safe," mental health advocate Susan Baty-Pierce said at the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office news conference Tuesday. "Hope is on the way. The first step is here."

A wide range of services will be available at the new center, including law enforcement training to identify mental illness.

"This training is very important at our academy," Sheriff Mark Pettway said. "This training will help us identify those who have mental health illness. Research has shown that through centers such as this one, we can work with individuals dealing with mental health issues to provide them with faster assistance without having to be bring them into the criminal justice system."

Commissioner Kimberly Boswell of the Alabama Department of Mental Health said opening a mental health center in Birmingham will help solidify the state's mental health awareness agenda.

"The addition of the fourth Crisis Center, in one of the most populated metropolitan areas in the state, brings vital and necessary crisis services in an expanded and more accessible form," Boswell said.