Salt Lake County recently opened a crucial lifeline for mental health support—a crisis center built to help people when they need it most. The Kem and Carolyn Gardner Mental Health Crisis Care Center (955 W. 3300 South) is a place where those struggling with mental health issues can find immediate care and safety.

The 80,000-square-foot facility was funded by private donations, state and county funds, and a $5-million donation from the Gardners. It will be open 24/7 for anyone 18 and older facing a mental health emergency.

“I think the importance of this day is that we know where to turn, people know there’s a place where they can go when they have the scourge of our generation, which is mental illness,” Kem Gardner said. “We really were astounded at what is offered here. So all I can do is thank everybody that played a part and tell you that we’re grateful that we played a very small part.”

Instead of taking loved ones to the emergency room for mental health issues, family members have a dedicated place designed to offer real, immediate help. The facility will provide rapid stabilization inpatient treatment, a medication-assisted clinic for individuals with opiate use disorders, intensive outpatient treatment for adults dealing with substance abuse disorders and day treatment for adults who need more support. 

Operated by the Huntsman Mental Health Institute, the $60-million facility hosted a ribbon cutting on March 28 to celebrate how the state is addressing its high rate of mental illness. 

Local and state officials, business leaders and mental health professionals joined in the celebration including University of Utah President Taylor Randall, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, University of Utah Health CEO Bob Carter and Christena Huntsman Durham and her brother David Huntsman who serve as co-CEOs for the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation.

“As most of you know, we lost our sister almost 15 years ago to a drug overdose. We know what that’s like to go in the back doors of detox, into intake,” Durham said. “As I travel around the country, our story is not alone. We are going to show here in Utah what the national norm is going to be. We are going to show the country that here in Utah, we can do things differently…You don’t need to suffer silently. You don’t need to be in the dark and in the shadows. We want to bring a light to that and give people hope and dignity.”

The building’s design is intended to help visitors feel safe, with every aspect of the construction being intentional. The center will provide a free law clinic to help overcome legal obstacles that can disrupt families dealing with a mental health crisis. It will also offer primary and dental care. Connections to existing community programs can help patients receive housing, health care and employment assistance. 

Salt Lake County donated land for the facility (located near the Salt Lake County Metro Jail) and appropriated more than $6 million to fund the building. Salt Lake County Councilmember Aimee Winder Newton shared an experience about her young son who was contemplating suicide.

“I needed to get him help. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know where to turn…I ended up taking him to an emergency room, but we didn’t get the help we really needed,” Newton said. “I wish we would have had a facility like this and I look forward to moms and dads all over our county being able to know where they can take their sons and daughters if they’re in crisis.”

Newton’s son is now a seventh-grade English teacher and Newton, along with other parents, siblings, children and spouses of people struggling with mental health issues expressed gratitude for the mental health crisis care center and the hope it brings to those in need of help. 

“I know the despair of being a parent, fearful in the middle of the night for a teenager, feeling ill-equipped and unprepared, not knowing where to turn, not knowing what to do,” Henderson said. “I know the anguish of being the child of a parent who is shackled with the chains of addiction and substance abuse. I know the agony it is to be the sibling of a brother who has struggled to stay alive. I know what it’s like to be a family member to people who have both completed and attempted suicide, and I know I’m not alone. 

“All of us have felt that. All of us know people who have felt that, and this facility brings hope and peace, and I’m so grateful for the great work that’s been done. We’ve got a lot more to do.”

For more information, visit Healthcare.Utah.Edu. λ