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Shelby County commissioners, providers highlight recent mental-health investments and plans for a children's crisis center
Summary
County leaders, nonprofit partners and providers described a recently opened adult crisis center, ongoing investments that helped fund it and plans for a 15-bed children's crisis center during public comment and a resolution recognizing National Mental Health Month.
Shelby County officials and mental-health providers used the County Commission meeting to describe recent investments in behavioral-health infrastructure, outline next steps for expanding services and encourage residents to use newly available crisis resources.
At the meeting, former county commissioner Mark Billingsley and representatives of Alliance Healthcare Services described the county's $1 million investment in a 24/7 adult crisis center that opened in Binghamton. Billingsley told commissioners that the county's $1 million contributed to a larger $36 million construction investment and said the center is operating and accepting clients. He said the administration, the city and other partners provided additional support for the project.
The Alliance Healthcare Services representative described programs that Alliance provides, including crisis intervention, therapy, substance-abuse treatment and supportive housing. Commissioners and speakers said Alliance has been a frequent county partner and credited the provider with helping individuals in crisis, including during COVID-19 testing and outreach.
Billingsley said a new children's crisis center is planned on the same Binghamton campus, with 15 beds for children ages roughly 4 to 17; he said the children's facility would reduce waits for pediatric behavioral-health placement and that organizers would return to committee to give the commission a fuller report. The exact funding sources and construction timeline for the children's center were described as under development; Billingsley said state support and other funding helped the adult center and that organizers were seeking similar partnerships for the children's program.
Commissioners pressed for more detail. Commissioner Brittany Thornton asked for data about workforce development tied to county grants and the county health department's partnerships with the University of Memphis; Courtney Tipper, Shelby County Health Department chief of staff, said the department's CDC-funded workforce-and-data grant has supported certificate and graduate training for health staff and a summer pipeline program for high-school students run by the University of Memphis. Tipper said the health department planned to present the University of Memphis' pilot public-facing data platform to the county's executive leadership the following week and to launch a public version before fiscal year 2026 if commissioners approve the contract before them.
Commissioners and speakers also said school-based mental-health services remain limited. Billingsley and commissioners noted there are 16 school-based mental-health liaisons in the county but that they and others say the system needs many more counselors; advocates urged state-level support to increase school-based positions funded by the state.
Why it matters: Commissioners and providers framed the developments as part of an effort to move people away from emergency rooms and jails toward therapeutic settings. County and nonprofit leaders urged the public to use crisis services and asked the commission to continue funding workforce development and children's services.
Ending: Commissioners asked the administration and county health department for follow-up briefings during upcoming committee meetings and said they expected more detailed financial and program timelines before approving additional county funding.
