# 35 Deschutes County Stabilization Center: Coming From a Place of Yes

<p dir="ltr">Holly Harris, LPC, Deschutes County Behavioral Health Director, and Sheriff L. Shane Nelson, Deschutes County Sheriff discuss:</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The benefits of having a 24 hour walk-in crisis stabilization center with therapists on staff.</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The stabilization center takes anyone unless there is a safety concern, and law enforcement can voluntarily drop people off in lieu of taking them to jail. The attitude is, “Coming from a place of yes.”</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The staff can de-escalate situations early for people by providing basic needs - food, rest, shower, etc - so the crisis doesn’t escalate, and the person can stabilize.</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Diverting people to services rather than taking them to jail makes the community and the jails safer.</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The center opened during COVID, and staff wellness has been a focus through safety implementation, debriefing, the betterment committee, and being mission-driven. It creates psychological safety for both staff and clients.</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The staff was provided with situational awareness and tactical training from law enforcement, and they rarely need to call police for back-up and initiate the involuntary process.</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The stabilization center staff also provided training to law enforcement, but it's not just training - it's about the partnership, and creating the trust to be able to provide the best services for the clients.</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">The initial funding came through the sheriff’s department to start the project. The stabilization center later applied for, and received, fund