Here's how new Bucks County center could help those in addiction, mental health crisis

Michele Haddon, Bucks County Courier Times

Finding the right help when in the grips of addiction or a mental health crisis can seem nearly impossible in the darkest of moments, but six social service agencies in Bucks County are hoping to light a path to assistance.

On Tuesday, community leaders gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony held at the future site of Bright Path Center, a new behavioral health crisis stabilization facility expected to open in 2025 in Doylestown Township.

A rendering shows the exterior of Bright Path Center, a new behavioral health crisis stabilization facility expected to open in Doylestown Township in 2025.
A rendering shows the exterior of Bright Path Center, a new behavioral health crisis stabilization facility expected to open in Doylestown Township in 2025.

“When people are struggling from a substance abuse disorder or with a mental health crisis, they need to know where to turn,” Bucks County Director of Human Services Rachel Neff said.

“As a social worker, it is never lost on me how important it is to open doors and meet people where they’re at in difficult times in their lives.”

The 22,000-square-foot center, the first of its kind in Pennsylvania, will be built next door to the existing Lenape Valley Foundation outpatient office on North West Street to provide around-the-clock care in a calming environment for individuals experiencing an urgent substance abuse or mental health challenge.

Understanding the need to improve access to behavioral health services in times of crisis, Lenape Valley Foundation, Doylestown Health, Bucks County Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Programs, the Bucks County Drug & Alcohol Commission, Magellan Behavioral Health, and NAMI Bucks County teamed up to make Bright Path Center a reality.

Commission Gene DiGirolamo shares a few words during a groundbreaking ceremony, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at the future site of Bright Path Center, a new behavioral health crisis stabilization facility expected to open in Doylestown Township next year.
Commission Gene DiGirolamo shares a few words during a groundbreaking ceremony, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at the future site of Bright Path Center, a new behavioral health crisis stabilization facility expected to open in Doylestown Township next year.

Bucks County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo, who for years has been open about his son’s battle with heroin addiction, said from his experience and talking with others he’s become all too familiar with the obstacles people often face.

“The common thread was we struggled to navigate how to get help, and not only help, but the right kind of help for their loved ones . . . It’s a struggle and that’s why this place that’s going to be built here is so important to the residents of Bucks County.”

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Behavioral health crisis help in Bucks County

In Bucks County, when someone or their loved one is experiencing a behavioral health crisis, they are taken to the emergency department of a local hospital.

Currently, at Doylestown Hospital, when an individual experiencing a crisis comes in, they are directed to an area leased to Lenape Valley Foundation, where they undergo a crisis assessment through which a referral plan is determined.

From there, they may be transferred to another facility for immediate treatment or discharged with a plan to pursue outpatient services, a partial hospitalization program, inpatient hospitalization or a residential treatment program.

How will the new crisis stabilization center in Bucks County be different?

A draft plan shows the layout of Bright Path Center, a new behavioral health crisis stabilization facility expected to open in Doylestown Township in 2025.
A draft plan shows the layout of Bright Path Center, a new behavioral health crisis stabilization facility expected to open in Doylestown Township in 2025.

At the moment, services designed to stabilize individuals are spread out across different locations and agencies throughout the county.

Bright Path Center, which will be operated by Lenape Valley Foundation, will bring all these behavioral health crisis services together under one roof.

A rendering shows an interior view of Bright Path Center, a new behavioral health crisis stabilization facility expected to open in Doylestown Township in 2025.
A rendering shows an interior view of Bright Path Center, a new behavioral health crisis stabilization facility expected to open in Doylestown Township in 2025.

Here are the ways in which this new approach will be different from what already exists:

  • The center will have a comfortable, home-like setting designed to provide a calm environment for individuals in crisis and their loved ones;

  • There will be separate areas within the center for children and adults;

  • It will have spaces specifically designed for assessment, referral, rehabilitation, withdrawal management and involuntary commitment;

  • The center will include stabilization units and short-term crisis residential treatment with access to on-site therapy and medication services;

  • And there will be a separate sallyport entrance and secured stabilization units for involuntary individuals in need of treatment.

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Reporter Michele Haddon covers local news, small business, economic development, community revitalization, art and culture for The Intelligencer and Bucks County Courier Times at PhillyBurbs.com. Please considering supporting local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Construction expected to begin soon on new Bucks County crisis center

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