The Village has opened Hartford’s first-ever, walk-in Urgent Crisis Center (UCC) for youth mental health, making a massive stride to address the children’s mental health crisis in Connecticut. Working with Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) and a legislative oversight committee, The Village is blazing the trail for this game-changing new level of behavioral health care in the state.
A new level of care
The UCC is specifically designed to meet the needs of children and adolescents up to age 18 who are in the throes of a mental health crisis, including challenges such as feelings of depression, anxiety or hopelessness; out-of-control behaviors; thoughts of suicide or self-injury; substance misuse and more.
The center can help divert families from hospital emergency rooms, which previously may have been their only option. Now, families are able to come to the UCC to get immediate help to deescalate the crisis their child is experiencing with support from a multidisciplinary team of APRNs, nurses, clinicians, family navigators, behavioral support specialists and discharge planners that is prepared to meet their needs. No appointment or referral is necessary to receive help.
“The UCCs give families another safe option—a place to bring their child and receive care, support, patience, compassion and good direction on where to go from there and how to get help when they go back home,” explains Sarah Eagan, Connecticut’s Child Advocate.
At the UCC, trained staff provide crisis stabilization support to youth and their families. The team completes a thorough evaluation and helps connect youth to ongoing support, such as counseling, and also works directly with caregivers to create a safety plan for when they go home.
Even after families leave the UCC with added stability and a plan in place, Village staff make regular calls to check in and ensure families are connected to the resources they need.
Part of The Village’s historic campus at 1680 Albany Avenue in Hartford, the UCC encompasses 6,000 square feet of newly renovated space and has 19 specially designed patient rooms that provide comfort and privacy. The rooms are decorated with brightly colored, soft furniture and motivational murals. The UCC is also equipped with fidget toys, weighted blankets and vests for comfort, and other tools to help with deescalation.
For parents just like Tenesha Oates, who has had to miss days of work while her son in crisis waited for the support he needed, the UCC provides both streamlined and immediate help in a place that’s designed to be comfortable and calming. It’s a place she knows she can turn to in the future.
“Being in the emergency department was beyond terrifying, nerve-wracking and scary. Emotionally, for both of us, it was so hard. The Urgent Crisis Center means not waiting for eight hours just to be seen and also being able to get connected to other resources quicker,” she shared.
The Urgent Crisis Center means not waiting for eight hours to be seen and also being able to get connected to other resources quicker.
The creation of the UCC
Among the many challenges that came along with the pandemic, the situation uncovered a tremendous need for improvements to mental health care and access statewide, especially for children.
Countless youth were struggling with anxiety, depression and other challenges brought on or compounded by the pandemic and isolation. When these challenges escalated to a crisis, there was nowhere else for families to turn except already overwhelmed hospitals. Children would end up waiting several hours or even days to be seen.
“We were inundated with kids, and COVID exacerbated the crisis. At any given time, we would see 30-50 children in the emergency department. There were children who truly needed crisis intervention, and there was no place in the community for them to go to other than a hospital emergency room,” said Dr. James Shmerling, President and CEO of Connecticut Children’s.
As the pandemic stretched on, the children’s mental health crisis grew until it eventually took center stage. Community leaders, advocates, parents and lawmakers were aligned and abundantly aware: something needs to be done immediately to help our children.
It would be the catalyst that inspired the General Assembly and Lamont Administration to create and pass landmark, bipartisan legislation in 2022 that helped develop four UCCs across Connecticut and a new committee dedicated to transforming children’s behavioral health.
As one of the state’s most established providers, The Village was called upon to lead the way in Greater Hartford. The Village stands ready to help along with three other UCC partners in Connecticut: Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, The Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut in New London and Wellmore Behavioral Health in Waterbury. ◼
URGENT CRISIS CENTER
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50 children at a time were being seen at Connecticut Children’s ED before the UCC opened.
The UCC encompasses
6,000
square feet of newly renovated space.
Youth are connected to ongoing care within 24 hours.
“The UCCs give families another safe option—a place to bring their child and receive care, support, patience, compassion and good direction on where to go from there and how to get help when they go back home.”
“Establishing a continuum of care is critically important. The number of children who need services far exceeds any of our individual abilities to manage it, so it does take a village.”
