BUFFALO, NY – BestSelf Behavioral Health is excited to announce that construction is officially underway on the BestResponse Intensive Crisis Center, a new 24/7 facility designed to support individuals of all ages experiencing mental health or substance use crises.

Opening this fall at 430 Niagara Street in Buffalo, the BestResponse Center will offer a calm, supportive place where people can stay for up to 23 hours and 59 minutes. During that time, they will receive immediate help from trained professionals through counseling, medication support, and connections to follow-up care, all in a welcoming, trauma-informed setting.

This new center was created to fill a major gap in local behavioral health services. Right now, people in crisis often end up in hospital emergency rooms, where they may wait for days just to be assessed. BestResponse is a hospital diversion program that aims to change that, providing a faster, more compassionate option to stabilize and connect people to the right level of care, while avoiding unnecessary psychiatric hospitalizations or inpatient rehab stays.

BestResponse is one of only a handful of intensive crisis stabilization centers being developed across New York State and was awarded to BestSelf through a highly competitive request for proposals (RFP) process. The selection reflects both the high-level of need in Western New York and BestSelf’s reputation for delivering innovative, community-based behavioral health services.

BestSelf is working closely with regional partners, including ECMC, Crisis Services of Western New York, and local emergency responders, to design how the center will operate. Together, they are creating a coordinated system that helps individuals get the right care quickly, reducing strain on hospitals and emergency rooms.

The center’s development is also being shaped through collaboration with five counties in Western New York: Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany, to ensure it meets each community’s specific needs.

When someone’s stay at BestResponse ends, staff will work with them to determine the next best step, whether that’s connecting to an outpatient program, community services, or another level of care that supports their recovery and stability.

“This center represents a critical investment in how our community responds to people in crisis,” said Elizabeth Woike, President & CEO of BestSelf Behavioral Health. “BestResponse will help people get the right kind of help at the right time, and that can make all the difference.”

For more information, visit: bestselfwny.org/bestresponse-intensive-crisis-center/