Gallatin County used to have a contract with Hope House, a facility that provided mental health crisis services in the area. But, without Hope House, it left a gap in services. Gallatin County is looking to close that gap with a new provider.
“We see such a huge need, you know, to the point where we're when we're tracking incoming traffic and who's looking for counseling services. Sometimes we track how many calls we're getting but also how many people that we had to turn away because we're just simply too full,” said Dr. Jeffery Ellens, Owner and Psychologist at Lotus Counseling.
Dr. Ellens is a psychologist and the owner of Lotus Counseling in Bozeman. He’s been practicing in Bozeman for seven years and has seen a demand in people seeking mental health help.
“We have people at a point in their lives. Where they're ready to reach out they're realizing that they could benefit from services,” Ellens said.
Gallatin County has been trying to fill a gap in mental health infrastructure after ending its contract with Hope House. They are now getting ready to see more support from a new provider.
“A partner that is called Connections Health Solutions since that's going to work in our community, to help us build out of more functional crisis, mental health crisis service,” said Gallatin County Commissioner Zach Brown.
The county signed a new contract with Connections Health Solutions which is based out of Arizona and started services last July
“So far is the mobile crisis unit, which is a system of mental health, licensed mental health service providers,” said Brown.
Taking the weight off county services like the Sheriff’s office.
“Dispatch mental health professionals directly to those scenes which is often more appropriate than law enforcement,” said Brown.
Now they are working on opening a new facility that will be able to treat people within.
“Getting more and more optimistic by the day, but it's a slow process to put everything together,” said Brown.
Health Solutions is waiting for a permit for construction from the city to build a facility in Bozeman near Safeway. Construction could take around six months after approval.`
