New crisis center offers people mental health support
Four Corners Detox Recovery Center opened in December 2020 after the State of New Mexico Emergency Operations Center, in partnership with McKinley County, the City of Gallup, and Santa Fe Recovery, determined that the McKinley County area needed more addiction rehabilitation and recovery services, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then in 2021, they opened a residential services option for those in need.
Now, almost four years later, another resource for those struggling with addiction and mental health problems has come to the Gallup area. In partnership with Four Corners Detox and Santa Fe Recovery, the new crisis center, which is located at 2028 E. Aztec Ave., is meant to serve people 18 years old and older.
The center officially opened on Nov. 7.
MENTAL HEALTH EMERGENCIES
In an interview with the Sun, Santa Fe Recovery Center’s Crisis Services Director Jess Spohn explained the differences between the new crisis center and the other mental health/addiction rehabilitation services offered in McKinley County.
The crisis center is what Spohn calls “an acute stabilization center.” They compared it to a mental health emergency room, somewhere people can go when they’re having a mental health crisis.
It’s a step above going to an average therapist, who might see a patient once or twice a month, depending on their need. But it’s a step below someone seeking in-patient care at a psychiatric hospital or residential services.
A person experiencing a mental health crisis would only stay at the crisis center for about a day, compared to a residential hospital stay where they could stay for at least 30 but at most 90 days. On the other hand, a person may stay three-to-five days at the detox center.
Right now, the crisis center is only open from 7 am to 11 pm Monday through Friday. Eventually, the staff plan to be open 24/7, but they currently lack the staff to do so.
But what is a crisis?
“By our definition a crisis is some kind of situation that is going on in your life that your regular coping skills or mechanisms aren't able to efficiently meet,” Spohn explained. “It could be just feeling some sadness or being out of medication and needing another appointment or losing your house or job.”
Spohn said they’ve seen people come in for a variety of reasons at some of the other crisis centers they’ve worked at.
“In some of the crisis centers I’ve worked in we had parents come in who said, ‘I just need a minute to myself,’ and we’re happy to provide that,” they said.
As long as someone is at least 18 years old, they can come into the center for a variety of reasons, such as loss of a family member or loved one, anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns. But someone could also simply be having an “off day” and seek help too.
“A lot of the time when people think ‘crisis’ their brains go directly to suicidal ideation or severe psychosis,” Spohn said. “We absolutely will take individuals who are experiencing that type of crisis, but we also take in individuals who are maybe having an ‘off’ day and they can’t really put their finger on what’s going on, or they’re experiencing some grief and loss.”
HOW THE CENTER WORKS
The center uses a “living-room model.” Spohn compared it to walking into someone’s welcoming home rather than a mental health facility. Bean bags and other comfortable chairs are scattered around the floor.
This is all meant to lower people’s stress levels. Some people also have trauma related to medical facilities.
Once a person has entered the crisis center, staff provides them with whatever they need to address their concerns. It may be as simple as a nap or some food.
“Sometimes you just need a little bit of something in your stomach to be able to manage all of life’s stressors,” Spohn said.
Once they feel ready, a qualified staff member will talk to the visitor.
During the Nov. 12 city council meeting, Corrine Begody, a crisis intervention specialist with the center, told the city council that the center currently has 12 people on staff. They would be fully staffed with 51 people.
Begody said they’re currently looking to hire a medical director, a nurse, and a cultural liaison. Right now, their staff is made up of crisis support workers, peer support workers, case managers, EMTs, a therapist, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, and a client engagement officer. Begody is the on-site supervisor.
A visitor would talk to one of these qualified staff members, and then that staff member would determine what type of service they may need. It could be the detox center, the residential services, or another service available in the community, such as the Community Pantry.
Whatever it is a client needs, the center’s staff will point them in the right direction.
“If you walk through our doors and say, ‘I need help’ and you’re over the age of 18, we’re absolutely going to do what we can to help the individual get access to some resources or get into the appropriate level of treatment,” Spohn said.
By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor
