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State and local leaders gathered at Kirkland City Hall Wednesday to introduce a new mental health crisis center.

“We have a mental health care crisis in the state of Washington, and that’s why I am delighted to see a crisis intervention center right here in Kirkland,” Gov. Jay Inslee said. “It’s time that we stop thinking of our jails as mental health centers in Washington.”

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The facility will be the first of its kind in the region and one of just a few in the state. It will provide not only emergency treatment to those having a mental health crisis but also longer-term wraparound services, like drug and alcohol rehab, mental health counseling, and housing, so people can get their lives back on track.

Inslee and King County Executive Dow Constantine said this will be an alternative to jail, so police can take a person causing problems on the street to get help instead of being locked up.

“Right now, there’s no place you can go in a time of crisis,” Constantine said. “You can put your name on a list, and in a few weeks or even a few months, you may get a call.”

King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski said this will be cheaper than jail, which can cost hundreds of dollars a day to house just one person — especially if mental health services are part of that.

The facility will be located at 11410 NE 122nd Way, Kirkland, just northwest of the Totem Lake Fred Meyer. It will be about a mile from the North Kirkland Community Center and within two miles of Juanita elementary and high schools.

The crisis center will open sometime next year and will have the capacity to serve around 14,000 people every year.

To fund this center, $10 million was allotted from the state legislature, along with $1.5 million from King County. The Department of Commerce allocated another $10 million in grants.

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A similar service center is already in existence in Bellingham, but this will be the first in King County.

Constantine has called for a phase-out of the King County Jail in favor of facilities that can provide services.

He did not give an update on the county’s Partnership for Zero, which had the goal of having no more than 30 people living on the streets of downtown Seattle as early as this year.

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