County Board Chair Deborah Conroy and County Board member and Human Services Committee Chair Greg Schwarze joined Congressman Sean Casten, state representatives and senators, local elected officials, and community partners to break ground on the DuPage Crisis Recovery Center (CRC) on April 8.
Located on the County campus in Wheaton, the CRC is designed to be a single point of entry for individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis. Individuals, family members, or first responders will be able to bring those experiencing a crisis to the center 24/7, where they will be screened and cared for by trained mental health and substance use professionals and connected with a warm hand off to community resources for continued support.
The Center will cost $25.8 million to build, with $15.3 million provided by the DuPage County Board from the American Rescue Plan Act, $5.5 million from the state’s Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan, $5 million from the Health Department, and $1 million from Congressman Casten.
The CRC will reduce unnecessary hospital emergency room visits, unnecessary 911 calls, and interactions with law enforcement that put a strain on public resources and are often not well-suited to address behavioral health crises. The center will be staffed with crisis services counselors, psychiatrists/psychiatric nurse practitioners, case managers, and people with lived experience.
The CRC is scheduled to open in Summer 2025.
