MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County is one of five counties slated for a new Crisis Receiving and Stabilization Center as part of a $16.45 million state investment to expand New Jersey’s 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline system, the Department of Human Services said.
The funding will support the phased rollout of the centers in Morris, Bergen, Camden, Essex and Monmouth counties. Of the total investment, $14.95 million comes from state funding and $1.5 million from a federal Mental Health Block Grant through the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The state portion includes $8.66 million in unused appropriations from the most recent fiscal year and $6.3 million carried forward from the prior fiscal year.
The centers are designed to give people experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis a place to receive immediate assessment, stabilization and treatment, along with connections to ongoing behavioral health care, as an alternative to a hospital emergency room or law enforcement response.
Governor Mikie Sherrill said the investment ensures every New Jersey resident knows that reaching out during a crisis will be met with support. Human Services Commissioner Stephen Cha said 988 serves as the entry point to a broader behavioral health crisis system, and that the funding will help the state build out places for people to go, whether by appointment or as a walk-in, when they need help.
Senate President Nick Scutari said the centers would expand the reach of the 988 system while easing pressure on hospitals and police, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said the effort reflects years of legislative work to build a fuller continuum of crisis care in the state. Senator Joe Vitale and Assemblywoman Andrea Katz both said the centers would give people a safer, more appropriate option than automatically turning to an emergency room during a crisis.
Deputy Commissioner for Health Services Valerie Mielke and Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services Assistant Commissioner David Helfand said the centers reflect an effort to build a system where people in crisis can be treated with dignity in a setting designed specifically for stabilization, rather than relying on emergency departments not suited to their needs.
New Jersey launched its 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in 2022, offering free, confidential calls, texts and chats with crisis counselors, as well as mobile crisis response and other community-based behavioral health services. The Department of Human Services said it is developing a phased implementation schedule for the five centers and will release further details as they are finalized.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health or suicide-related crisis, help is available by calling or texting 988.
