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The pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health of children. It’s a situation that was already on shaky ground even before COVID-19, due to the lack of intensive in-patient behavioral health care for kids in South Florida and the nation.
Suicide rates, depression, anxiety, and other problems among children have increased. This as many kids are forced to wait days and sometimes weeks for in-patient care. The help can’t come soon enough.
Fortunately, Community Health of South Florida (CHI) is in the process of building a place for them to heal. The Children’s Crisis Center will be first of its kind to serve kids in crisis in southern Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.
“The need for a children’s crisis center is now more important than never,” said Brodes H. Hartley, Jr., CEO of CHI. “We have to take care of the most vulnerable. If we don’t do it now, the consequences snowball as they grow older for them and for all of us.”
Every year, nearly 1,000 children in crisis are Baker Acted and brought to CHI’s adult crisis stabilization unit, where they are screened and processed. Currently, there is no freestanding children’s crisis unit in the South Dade area, and the closest in-patient beds are located in central Miami-Dade.
“This is a situation that we live every day,” said Jean Pierre, Vice President and Chief Behavioral Health Officer at CHI. “There are plenty of nights that I look at the security footage, and I see three or four children in our holding area waiting to be transferred.”
In May of 2020, this long-term dream finally became a reality. The Children’s Crisis Center broke ground at 10300 SW 216 St., Miami, FL 33190. CHI’s leadership team and several donors gathered for the groundbreaking, while CHI staff and the rest of the community watched virtually. There was no shortage of excitement as the capital campaign achieved a monumental milestone.
“I could not be prouder of the hard work CHI has done to make this happen,” said Pierre.
“We know this center will make a huge impact on the entire community.”
When fully built, the structure will be comprised of 20 rooms designed for the care of children suffering from severe mental illness. Located adjacent to CHI ’s Doris Ison Health Center’s Miami headquarters, treatment for 1000 children annually is anticipated, resulting in a tremendous positive impact for the Miami-Dade and Monroe county families.
“The state-of-the-art facility will make children and their families feel welcome,” said Pierre.
“We want them to fell secure and taken care of.”
The single-story ground level facility will house a team of board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrists, social workers, counselors, and mental health clinicians ready to offer comprehensive diagnostic evaluation and treatment for a variety of serious emotional and behavioral problems.
In 2020, CHI made significant progress in its $5.5 million capital campaign to build the Children’s Crisis Center. This initiative required an all-hands-on-deck approach from the entire leadership team at CHI, donors, and the community to fill a void in South Florida. As of December 31st, 2020, CHI had raised $4.29 million for its capital campaign, doubling funds from 2019.
“This is the result of a tremendous fundraising campaign,” said Victoria Castro, Director of Development at CHI. “Several high-profile donors, child advocates, and committee members have played an instrumental role in bringing awareness to the Children’s Crisis Center.”
CHI also launched the Bricks of Hope campaign, in which donors can contribute $250 or $400 in the form of an individualized brick that will be laid at the entrance of the center and provide messages of support to all who visit.
“The greatest power is the sum all of our donors getting together to help with this important cause,” said Castro. “We can all change the lives of children and teenagers for the better.”
The vision for 2021 is to keep construction on pace and begin operational planning to ensure a seamless grand opening later in the year. Once the Children’s Crisis Center opens its doors, CHI leadership hopes it will become the standard of care for mental health in the community.
