ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. — A new facility on the Northshore is coming online to handle mental health challenges before they can get out of hand.
The NESS Center in Mandeville is the first community behavioral center of its kind in Louisiana. With a 24-hour call center, it’s meant to be a lifeline anytime someone on the Northshore is grappling with mental health problems or substance abuse.
In past years, suicide rates in St. Tammany parish exceeded national and state averages. The NESS Center is one more resource to address issues many have been reluctant to talk about.
“People are talking about it, talking about depression, talking about anxiety, the kids are having it. So, I think it’s always been there, but it’s more at the surface now,” said Toni Bonvillian, executive director of the NESS Center.
“We know it’s a concern, not only in our country, but here in our state and in our parish and we want to get people the help they need,” said St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith.
At a time when law enforcement is expected to deescalate encounters, Sheriff Smith and his deputies will team up with the NESS Center. It represents a shift away from past approaches that prioritized arrests.
“Years ago, we would respond when someone called for help, next thing you know we’re dealing with somebody who is schizophrenic, combative, we wind up with use of force complaints, we wind up going to the hospital. They wind up in jail, deputies are hurt, lawsuits would come. So, this minimizes that and saves the taxpayers money,” Smith said.
Under this partnership, a team of mental health workers can be dispatched alongside St. Tammany Parish deputies in certain crisis situations. In addition, there will also be peer specialists who can respond with law enforcement. Those specialists are people who have been through mental health or substance abuse situations that can help further deescalate situations by offering a more relatable voice.
“We get to partner with them on the scene and help that person get into care, rather than them have to go to jail or the emergency room,” said Toni Bonvillian.
With COVID’s fourth surge straining hospitals, redirecting mental health patients to the NESS Center can alleviate pressure on medical providers. And by being more aware of a person’s mental state, may lessen the pressure on deputies to put them in handcuffs.