CN Guidance to offer rapid treatment for people with mental health, substance disorders 

"Hope Starts Here" is the motto of CN Guidance & Counseling Services' new community crisis center, set to open next spring, to provide rapid assessment, stabilization, treatment and connection to any additional services someone with a mental health or substance use disorder may be experiencing.

During a ceremony Thursday marking the imminent start of renovations to create space for the new center at CN Guidance’s headquarters in Hicksville, officials said they aim to eliminate the long waits and "trauma" some people in crisis may face when trying to get into treatment.

"Navigating our [behavioral health] system is hard, especially when you are in crisis," said Jeffrey Friedman, chief executive of the nonprofit CN Guidance, explaining the need for what is categorized by the state as a "crisis stabilization center."

New York State has prioritized increasing mental health services, establishing a $1 billion, multiyear plan in the 2023-2024 fiscal budget, with an additional $118 million in new money included in the 2024-2025 budget, to boost mental health services.

"We'll be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Right now if you're in crisis, you have nowhere to go," Friedman said in an interview. "Sometimes you can wait days, weeks, months to get into treatment. Here you can bring your loved one in. You can come with your family and get treatment immediately, on demand," he said. The center will serve people from both Nassau and Suffolk counties.

The center's development was the result of three years of research, said Jaclyn McCarthy, CN Guidance's vice president of program excellence, in collaboration with the state Office of Mental Health, and the state Office of Addictive Services and Supports, both of which have licensed the center, and other stakeholders, she said.

Friedman said that while there are other community-based programs helping those with mental health and/or substance abuse needs, CN Guidance's licenses for the center from the two state agencies will enable it to offer a higher level of care. Brian Peterson, Long Island field office director of the state Office of Mental Health, said in an interview at  Thursday's ceremony that a similar center is "in process" in Suffolk County by the Family Service League.

"The people we serve have spoken out, raising two critical concerns," Friedman said to a large audience of elected officials, mental health and substance use disorder specialists, law enforcement officials among them. He said clients raised concerns about the "incredibly daunting challenge" of getting treatment services. "And second, far too many individuals find themselves in the emergency room only to be told that the care they seek is not available," he said.

CN Guidance's new center, which Friedman said they hope to complete by the Spring of 2025 or early summer, seeks to offer a welcoming environment where children and adults — the center will take children starting from age 5 — will be assessed to determine their needs and to provide treatment.

The center is to encompass 10,000 square feet of a back portion of the CN Guidance headquarters in Hicksville that is to be renovated, Friedman said in an interview.

Sharayah Sanon, the center's program director, said during the ceremony that there will be two wings of the center, one for children, "which will have two family rooms," she said, the other for adults, which she said "will have six hope rooms," where they will be assessed and treated.

"The community crisis center is an urgent response for clients that are experiencing an acute mental health or substance abuse crisis," Sanon said in her presentation. "The purpose of this program is to provide rapid access to . . .  a number of services, assisting with hospital diversion and also to prevent the need for a higher level of care," she said. 
"When someone arrives at the crisis center, they will be greeted by peers," Sanon said, calling them a crucial component of the crisis center. Then patients will be screened by nurses "to ensure they are appropriate for the program and not in need of a higher level of care," she added.

A CN Guidance spokesman said the agency was awarded $8.6 million in state aid and startup funding for the project, and another $1 million in capital funding to develop the center. And during the program, Anissa Moore, Nassau's deputy county executive for health and human services, said the county has "committed approximately $12 million through our opioid funding to make sure this vision becomes a reality." 

By Olivia Winslow

olivia.winslow@newsday.com@newsollie