TDMHSAS Announces Grants for Four New Crisis Stabilization Units and Walk-In Centers

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) is excited to announce the creation of four new Crisis Stabilization Units (CSUs) and Crisis Walk-In Centers.  When the additional locations enter service later this year and early next year, the state’s already robust crisis services capacity will be expanded to a total of 12 centers.

Crisis Stabilization Units and Walk-In Centers offer an alternative to inpatient psychiatric hospitalization with 24/7 evaluation and stabilization services available.  They are an alternative to calling 911 or going to an emergency department for people trying to find care for a loved one.  They are also an opportunity for pre-arrest diversion for law enforcement instead of taking someone to jail.  Anyone needing to access mental health care in a crisis should call or text 988 or chat with 988lifeline.org.

The four new locations focus on rapidly expanding suburban areas and rural areas where unmet need was identified:

• Murfreesboro, Rutherford County
• Clarksville, Montgomery County
• Paris, Henry County
• Dyersburg, Dyer County

The four locations are in various states of construction with the first tentatively set to open in mid-2023.

“What we’ve seen with our existing network of CSUs and Walk-In Centers is a reduction in unnecessary psychiatric hospitalizations, and that’s good for everyone involved.  It keeps the person in their community, treats their mental health crisis, and eliminates the trauma of unnecessary hospitalization, all while delivering critical care at a lower cost,” said TDMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams, LCSW.  We are grateful to the Governor, the General Assembly, and our community providers for recognizing this need and stepping up to address it.

Watch a video showing how Tennessee’s Crisis Services system works

Governor Bill Lee, members of the Tennessee General Assembly, and the state’s Fiscal Stimulus Accountability Group budgeted nearly $35 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to cover the cost of establishing the four new locations.  Grantees were selected in a competitive funding process in late 2022.  Grantee providers for this expansion are well-established community behavioral health agencies already serving as mobile crisis providers: Volunteer Behavioral Health, Centerstone, Carey Counseling Center, and Pathways Behavioral Health.

“With these new options on top of our current CSU’s, our statewide mobile crisis services for adults and children, and our robust roll out of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in Tennessee, there have never been this many avenues for accessing mental health help in a crisis,” said Jennifer Armstrong, LPC-MHSP, TDMHSAS Director of Crisis Services and Suicide Prevention.

To learn more about TDMHSAS Crisis Services, visit our website at TN.gov/behavioral-health/need-help