Hundreds gather in Pocatello for crisis center ribbon-cutting

On Wednesday, hundreds of people filled the parking lot of the South East Idaho Behavioral Crisis Center for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Among them were elected officials from various counties, law enforcement officials, interested residents and Governor Brad Little.

The ribbon-cutting didn’t mark the opening of the center, which has already taken in more than 50 people since April 15. Instead, the day celebrated a community and statewide effort to make a difference.

“It’ll fundamentally change the foundation of our community because we have such a huge need when it comes to addictions of all kinds,” Bannock County Commissioner Steve Brown said. “And that need has just not had a place to be met and this will change that world.”

Since the center opened its doors just under a month ago, nearly 90 percent of those who have checked in have done so on their own.

Executive Director Matt Hardin said the center has been seeing the immediate impact on its patients.

“People are smiling when they’re leaving, they’re happy, they’re excited to get back out into the community. And so that 23 days is a short amount of time, but we’ve definitely seen that improvement.”

For patients coming in with thoughts of self-harm, Hardin said several have left saying their lives were saved.

“Just that short impact, if we’ve saved two lives in three weeks, I mean, what more could you ask for?”

Governor Little has seen the impact of the other five crisis centers around Idaho and believes the state’s newest center will have many benefits to the community.

“It’s gonna save the residents of this district money in their hospital bills, in their police, in the sheriff, in incarceration in jails and most importantly it’s the right thing to do save lives and help families.”

Little stated that he believes many of the problems the centers address stem from substance abuse, one of the reasons he’s planning to make an executive order in the coming weeks that will be “in conjunction with all the great things that are taking place at our crisis centers.”

In an effort to get ahead of the issue, Little also wants to start reaching out to kids at a younger age.

“We can spend a little bit of resources there and make a big difference going forwards,” Little said.

Hardin added that mental health and substance abuse professionals often feel like they are fighting the issues on their own, but with support from people like Governor Little, the fight gets easier.

“Having the top elected official in the State of Idaho come down and give support and talk about executive orders and what he’s doing, it feels like we’re in this together,” Hardin explained.