This story by Chris Mays was first published in the Brattleboro Reformer on Sept. 24, 2026.
Starting in January, 24/7 walk-in services at a new mental health urgent care center are expected to be offered at a location in Brattleboro.
Health Care & Rehabilitation Services will receive $3.6 million in grant funding from the Vermont Department of Mental Health to develop the center, an announcement states. The services provider said the project will create “a much-needed community-based option for adults and youth experiencing mental health, substance use and co-occurring crises.”
Plans are underway to start offering the services in January. Additional components will come online “as implementation progresses,” according to the announcement.
The project also will expand residential stabilization capacity for children and youth, with four short-term residential beds planned.
“Expanding access to urgent mental health care for Vermonters is essential,” Mental Health Commissioner Emily Hawes said in a statement, “and this work goes beyond just expanding access as it opens options for those most in need at times when they are most in need.”
Health Care & Rehabilitation Services said the new center will address “a critical gap in southeastern Vermont’s crisis continuum: a therapeutic place for people to go when they need more support than can be provided through Mobile Crisis, but emergency department or inpatient care may not be necessary.”
“For years, we have worked to ensure that people experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis have a place to call and someone who can respond,” CEO Anne Bilodeau said in a statement. “This new funding allows us to build the next critical piece — a safe, therapeutic place to go when someone needs more support. We are incredibly excited about what this will mean for individuals and families throughout southeastern Vermont. It gives our communities another option for helping people receive the right care, in the right setting, at the right time.”
The Mental Health Urgent Care Center will provide adults and youth with peer support, crisis intervention and stabilization, medical support, care coordination, assessment and connection to ongoing services. Also, the center will support individuals experiencing co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions.
The project was discussed Friday morning at the One Brattleboro table, where stakeholders meet to improve community resilience, safety and public health.
“(T)here was consensus that this initiative will fill an important gap in our ability to make Brattleboro a safe, healthy and thriving community,” Town Manager John Potter told the Reformer.
Potter said the center will “provide an outlet to professionally address crisis mental health needs while reducing the demands for municipal services and impacts to the hospital and other service providers.”
“This will potentially be a very positive program for us,” Brattleboro Police Chief Jeremy Evans told the Reformer. “Mental health concerns have continually been a recurring theme, and offering this new alternative is great to see.”
Evans said the police department looks “forward to continuing our strong collaborations” with Health Care & Rehabilitation Services.
State’s Attorney Steven Brown applauded the service provider for the effort.
“I am supportive of any initiative that expands access to much needed mental health care in our community,” he told the Reformer. “We have not been asked to collaborate, but I do look forward to exploring opportunities for this initiative to address the intersection of the criminal justice system and mental health.”
Specifically designed for mental health and substance use crisis care, the center isn’t intended to replace emergency medical care for physical health emergencies, according to the announcement.
“Four short-term crisis stabilization beds will be dedicated to children and youth who need a safe, therapeutic level of support but do not require inpatient psychiatric hospitalization,” the announcement states. “The center will operate in close coordination with 988, HCRS’ Mobile Crisis services, local hospitals, outpatient providers, schools, peer support organizations, first responders, housing providers and other community partners.”
Health Care & Rehabilitation Services said it will “work with regional partners to establish referral pathways, warm handoffs, and coordinated follow-up to help individuals move more seamlessly between levels of care.”
“The initiative responds to needs identified through HCRS’ Community Needs Assessment and regional crisis data, including high emergency department utilization, barriers to timely crisis stabilization, and the need for additional community-based alternatives,” the announcement states. “Southeastern Vermont has experienced particularly high emergency department utilization associated with mental health crises, underscoring the need for another option for individuals who require immediate support but not hospital-level care.”
Health Care & Rehabilitation Services is working to finalize leased space in Brattleboro for the center, according to the announcement. Over the coming months, the organization plans to prepare the facility, recruit and train staff, develop operational workflows and continue coordinating with community partners in preparation for the January launch.
About 34 positions are expected to be created for the new center. A job fair to support recruitment is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday at Brooks Memorial Library. More information can be found on the career page at hcrs.org.
Brattleboro Select Board Chair Oscar Heller described mental health as “a core issue affecting our community that feeds into the other challenges we face.”
“It’s a welcome sight to see significant resources flowing towards addressing it, and I look forward to seeing how HCRS develops their new program,” he told the Reformer.
Selectboard member Isaac Evans-Frantz said he’s “delighted to see this news.”
“Expansion of support in Brattleboro is a critical investment in the people of our community,” he told the Reformer. “With too few places to turn for help, too often our neighbors experiencing mental health and substance abuse crises have depended on our local emergency room for care. This has overburdened the emergency room and emergency personnel, cost much and has resulted in delays in care.”
With the new center being open 24/7, Evanz-Frantz said, the community will be offered “a much-needed alternative.”
