SOUTH BEND — In the aftermath of St. Joseph County Commissioners tabling a funding agreement that would pay for the construction and operation of a behavioral crisis center, South Bend Mayor James Mueller announced Tuesday that the city will step in to provide funds for the mental health center.
In a release, the city announced it will supply $2.66 million in American Rescue Plan funding to pay for the crisis center in a partnership with Oaklawn. The behavioral crisis center is being built in the existing Epworth Hospital in downtown South Bend and will provide 14 beds for residents in need of emergency mental health care.
The money will pay for building expenses as well as for the first year of the center’s operation. Oaklawn will run the center, which is expected to completed in the late spring, and has been in the works since late 2021 as a partnership between local governments, Oaklawn, Memorial Hospital and local police agencies.
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“After years of collaboration, I am glad our community is ready to establish a crisis center and fill in gaps in our mental health services,” said Mueller in a written statement. “This partnership between the city and Oaklawn provides the funding necessary for the buildout of the center and its initial operation costs.”
Plans for the center had hit a snag in recent weeks when county commissioners tabled a deal that would provide county funding for the project. St. Joseph County councilors had approved around $2.7 million to pay for the center in a unanimous vote in late 2021.
However, the commissioners’ decision to table to a contract with Oaklawn effectively undid the council’s prior allocation and dozens of community members, activist groups and public officials — including Mueller and South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski — spoke out against the vote to table the funding.
At that meeting, commissioners Carl Baxmeyer and Derek Dieter cited questions about the ability to pay for the center over the long term. The fallout from the commissioners vote led, in part, to St. Joseph County Health Officer Robert Einterz announcing his resignation. In an interview with The Tribune, Einterz said the decision to the table funding was the latest instance of commissioners’ “harassment of the health department.”
With the city stepping in, the center will have enough funding to operate for a year — giving residents a place to received emergency mental health care and giving police officers a place to take individuals suffering from mental health crises instead of putting them in jail or taking them to the emergency room.
“We are honored to have the city’s support for this project as the next step in making the crisis center a reality,” said Oaklawn President and CEO Laurie Nafziger. “We are working diligently with county officials to answer all questions and wholeheartedly believe the crisis center is the next step in caring for the mental health needs of our communities.”
Funding for the center beyond the first year is still up in the air. It’s possible county commissioners will approve the funding they tabled, though the measure will now have to be approved by the newly elected county council. Einterz does not have faith the council — which has a new Republican majority — will approve the funding, he said.
Beyond St. Joseph County, the city and Oaklawn have expressed optimism that additional state resources for mental health care will become available in upcoming legislative sessions.
“I am optimistic that additional funding partnerships with the county and state will sustain the crisis center and these critical mental health services beyond its initial years,” Mueller’s statement read.
Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek
