NOBLESVILLE — Hamilton County has opened its first dedicated mental health crisis center in Noblesville, providing immediate care for residents experiencing mental health emergencies.
The Rely Center, operated by Aspire Indiana Health, serves as a 24/7 facility providing immediate behavioral health support to both youth and adults experiencing suicidal thoughts, substance use crisis and other mental health emergencies through skilled interventions of a multidisciplinary team.
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The facility's trained staff can address individuals in crisis experiencing severe depression or anxiety, manic or psychotic episodes and urgent psychiatric medication refill needs.
"Can you imagine having a heart disease or a broken ankle and not having an urgent care facility or an emergency room to go to to help you with those medical needs? Well, that's been the case for people with mental health problems. What we're doing here today is opening an alternative choice," said Antony Sheehan with Aspire Indiana Health.
The Rely Center team has created a model that provides a homey environment designed to be welcoming while simultaneously offering an array of services such as triage, assessment, rapid stabilization, reduction in crisis symptoms and observation in a community-based setting.
The center aims to intervene earlier in mental health crises, potentially reducing long-term impacts on patients.
"We're getting in much more quickly in the course of the condition and therefore we'll be able to mitigate the long-term impact," Sheehan said.
Former Hamilton County Judge Steve Nation has seen firsthand how the lack of mental health resources has affected the community. He recalls cases where young people turned to drugs to cope with mental health issues, leading to criminal charges.
"It was very sad to me when I would see an individual who was 21 years old, who had now been arrested with two or three felonies. I thought, 'Why couldn't we go back here and keep these 13 years of reach out to programming and programs and then help him?'" Nation said.
The facility also benefits local law enforcement by providing officers with a resource for mental health calls.
"We respond to a lot of mental health calls in various stages from just somebody having a bad day to somebody who's suicidal and having the worst day of their life," explained Noblesville Police's Jason Thompson.
"This actually allows us to have maybe one or two interactions with somebody versus four, six, eight, because they're getting the support they need through the Relies Center," Thompson added.
Sheehan believes the center represents a shift in how mental health is viewed and treated in the community.
"I think an important movement for change in terms of how behavioral health is regarded and treated. I think people are already beginning to speak much more openly about it. It doesn't matter whether you'll be treated for a kidney stone or for a mental health condition. You'll be treated the same way," Sheehan said.
Mental health resources are available across the state of Indiana. To find resources, Dial 988 or visit the suicide and crisis lifeline website.
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Griffin Gonzalez is the In Your Community multimedia journalist for Hamilton County. He joined WRTV in January of 2024. Griffin loves to tell stories about people overcoming their biggest obstacles and share the good news that his community has to offer. Share your story ideas and important issues with Griffin by emailing him at griffin.gonzalez@wrtv.com.
