El Paso City Council to advocate for state funding of new behavioral health facility

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) – Tuesday, El Paso City Council unanimously voted to advocate for sustainable state funding for the Emergence Health Network (EHN) new Behavioral East Campus. It will provide crisis behavioral health care for youth and adults and include the first space of its kind for kids in the city.

The funding would support the facility's operations, staffing and services. It would also help expand crisis behavioral health care for youth and adults and ensure the long-term sustainability of the facility.

City Council member Ivan Niño proposed the item.

"We often talk about how important it is to prioritize public safety, affordability, quality of life components including economic mobility. However, I've also shared how all of these priorities are defined differently by many different individuals based on our perspective districts. You know, currently in the far east of El Paso or in district five, within district five, there is no direct access or branch," Niño said in Tuesday's City Council meeting.

He said the new behavioral health center in Far East El Paso (District 5) would change that. EHN was able to secure state funding for the full construction of the project, nearly $50 million from the state legislature, according to Niño.

That project will include a crisis center and an outpatient space. According to Niño, it will include:

• 16 diversion adult chairs
• 16 extended observation beds
• 16 residential crisis beds
• 8 beds for kids

The center will include the first beds for this type of care for kids in El Paso. Niño said that was important for him.

"This space is going to have eight beds for kids, which is going to be something that is going to be super impactful for our entire community and for the Far East side of Paso, specifically, how fast it's grown and it continues to grow," Niño said in the meeting.

Now that state funding has been secured for the building, Niño said it's important for the council to advocate to ensure EHN has operational cost to provide services for the entire city and county.

"This will be the first dedicated youth crisis observation and stabilization service in the county. This will also directly support law enforcement officers, including CIT teams, by giving them a dedicated place to bring someone in crisis," EHN Chief Operating Officer Crystal Davis said in the council meeting.

Davis said the facility means instead of a person in crisis being routed to jail or the emergency room, they will be met with clinical staff. She said that means less waiting times in emergency rooms and faster return in the community for officers.

EHN is asking for the city to advocate for sustainable funding to support the facility operation and staffing long-term, according to Davis. The request is detailed in this item:

Item 23: Discussion and action to direct the City Manager, in coordination with the City Attorney, to amend the City of El Paso's 90th Session State Legislative Agenda to include advocacy for sustainable state funding during the upcoming biennium to support the operational costs, staffing, and service delivery of the recently announced Behavioral Health East Campus, a community-based crisis behavioral health facility to be operated by Emergence Health Network (EHN) and located within the City of El Paso. Such advocacy shall support the expansion of crisis behavioral health services for youth and adults and help ensure the long-term success and sustainability of the facility.

The item passed unanimously.

ABC-7 has reached out to Emergence Health Network for comment.