Bowling Green city leaders announce plans for mental health facility

SOUTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY – It’s been a year long process but now it’s taking it’s first steps toward reality.

A committee of 32 local and state leaders have been meeting to develop an idea to tackle the issue of individuals experiencing mental health crises in the community. Members of the committee toured a location in Nashville that they wanted to emulate here in Kentucky and after drafting a complete plan, they’re ready to ask the legislature to help out.

The facility based in Bowling Green would be a drop-off and check-in operation run by LifeSkills that would be a source of immediate treatment and would bypass the criminal justice system in hundreds of cases. Reports from the Bowling Green Police Department account for over 900 encounters with people experiencing a mental health crisis, which could possibly result in arrest and preventing of accurate care.

The committee is asking for $23 million from the state to build this new facility that they strongly believe will save lives in the area, keep the community safer by freeing up police response time and eventually reduce strain on jails.