Linn County is pleased to announce the Mental Health Access Center will begin offering daytime walk-in hours on April 26, 2021. Individuals 18 years of age and older who are experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis will be able to walk into the Access Center without an appointment and receive help Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Services Available
- Crisis Triage & Counseling (Foundation 2)
- Mental Health Evaluations (Abbe Health)
- Mental Health Prescriber Appointments (Abbe Health)
- Peer Support (Abbe Health)
- Crisis Stabilization (Penn Center)
- Substance Use Disorder Patient Support (8 a.m.-noon)
- Substance Use Disorder Clinical Support (on-call)
For services after hours, community members can use Foundation 2 Mobile Crisis Teams by calling 319-362-2174.
The Access Center is building capacity and working to open on a walk-in basis 24/7 365 days a year.
Eligibility
Because the Mental Health Access Center receives funding from the East Central Mental Health Region, anyone who is 18 years of age or older and lives in the following counties can use the services of the Mental Health Access Center: Benton, Bremer, Buchanan, Delaware, Dubuque, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, and Linn. Patients can be brought in via law enforcement or mobile crisis teams. Patients can also be brought in with loved ones or come on their own. Use of Mental Health Access Center services is 100 percent voluntary.
The Mental Health Access Center cannot serve individuals in need of immediate medical care; individuals who are violent at arrival or immediately prior to arrival with a likelihood that they will seriously hurt themselves, other patients, or Access Center employees; or minors 17 years old or younger.
Background on the Access Center
Led by Linn County Supervisor Ben Rogers, development of the Access Center concept included community partners from local mental health and substance abuse service providers, health care, law enforcement, and emergency services.
The Linn County Board of Supervisors committed $3.5 million for start-up funding. The Access Center will be under the management of Linn County Community Services, a department within Linn County government. Access Center Director Erin Foster will be the only County employee at the Access Center. Services will be provide by Abbe Health, Area Substance Abuse Council (ASAC), Foundation 2, and Penn Center.
Linn County held a ribbon cutting on March 5, 2021 to celebrate the completion of the Access Center. The ribbon cutting was held prior to fully opening and serving the first patients in order to protect patient privacy.
Learn more about the Mental Health Access Center.