A second regional behavioral health crisis center will be located in Coeur d’Alene and is expected to be up and running by the end of the year.

Details about the contract and specific location are still being finalized, according to Ross Edmunds, administrator for the Department of Health and Welfare’s Division of Behavioral Health.

“This has been a community-level collaborative process since we had the legislative intent language indicating the center needed to be in North Idaho,” Edmunds said. “It took the center in Idaho Falls less than 6 months to open their doors, and we expect a similar timeline for this center as well, after we finalize the contract. We know the need is great.”

The Coeur d’Alene Press made the announcement about the location this morning after an interview Monday afternoon with Edmunds.

Community crisis centers are places where residents experiencing a crisis because of a serious mental illness or substance use disorder can go voluntarily at any time of the day or night for evaluation, intervention and referral for additional services.

The decision on where to put the state’s second center was a little less complicated than when Idaho Falls was chosen as the location for the first crisis center. The legislation to appropriate the funds included intent language to put it in North Idaho. The Behavioral Health Board in Region 2 immediately said it would support Region 1’s proposal for the center to be placed there. After that, Edmunds began working closely with community partners including Panhandle Health, Kootenai Health, Heritage Health, local law enforcement and the county commissioners.

The Idaho Legislature approved $1.7 million for the second center in its 2015 session.