Area religious leaders and elected officials praised a move to bring a new crisis receiving center to Prince William County.
When the center eventually opens sometime next year, police will bring patients with a temporary mental illness to the center for treatment. The center will provide 23-hour monitoring for those in the middle of a mental health crisis.
The center will aim to take the stress off police officers, many of whom can spend an entire shift or more sitting with patients, returning those officers to the streets. “We’ve had ad many as six [officers] with one person at a time,” Manassas Police Chief Douglass Keen said during a Manassas City Council meeting on April 18, 2022.
Last year in Prince William County, nearly 1,000 people were temporarily detained for mental illness. Police officers took about 40 percent of them to mental hospitals in other parts of the state because there were no beds to house them in Northern Virginia.
“We are grateful the new Crisis Receiving Center in Prince William County will become a reality. Once operational, it will save countless lives in the coming years and help build a more humane and effective mental health system, especially for those on the margins in Prince William. This is a great investment from our local and state leaders,” said Rev. Keith Savage of First Baptist Church Manassas.
Prince William County approved $7.5 million in funding for the new center in its most recent budget. Virginia will chip in $2.5 million in one-time funding. The center will have 16 beds for adults and eight for children.
The county has yet to find a location to build the facility.
“Prince William County needs a facility to support people experiencing mental health crises,” said Delegate Guzman. “Our law enforcement agencies are spending a lot of their staff time responding to people experiencing a mental health crisis. Furthermore, the center will also be available to people who want non-emergency help for depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges but can’t currently afford to access that care,” said Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (D-Prince William County).
Once built, it’s likely the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park will bring patients to the facility. In April, Manassas leaders expressed support for the crisis center over the county’s plan to create a new, more costly public health department, while shuddering services currently provided by the state.
“To me, this is a much better use of our funds,” said Manassas Councilwoman Pamela Sebesky.
