SEVEN COUNTIES SERVICES OPENS LOUISVILLE CRISIS CENTERS
East Broadway facility gives people in behavioral health crisis a place to go that is not a hospital or a jail
LOUISVILLE, KY (September 8, 2026) – Seven Counties Services opened the doors of its Crisis Centers today, giving Louisville residents a walk-in destination for mental health and substance use crises. The Adult Crisis Center, at 914 East Broadway, welcomes anyone in crisis from 3 to 11 p.m. daily and will expand to 24-hour operations over the next year. Seven Counties Services chose the opening date to coincide with 988 Day, the national awareness day for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The Youth Crisis Center, located in the same building on a separate floor will operate 7 AM to 11 PM, 7 days a week initially and will expand to 24/7, 365 days a year. Together, these two additions to the community’s crisis continuum of care fill a critical gap and give people of all ages a safe place for help in the moments they need it most.
The Centers answer the question Louisville families have asked for years: where do you go when a crisis occurs? Until now, the answer was an emergency room, a jail cell or nowhere at all. Now, thanks to a community-wide partnership, anyone can now walk through the door at 914 East Broadway, sit down with a licensed clinician and leave with a plan. Callers to 988 can also be referred to the Centers. People often delay care because they do not know how to get it without starting at an emergency room. The Crisis Centers now remove that barrier. Staff work with each person to determine next steps and arrange a higher level of care when someone needs it.
“I’ve been in this field a long time, and it’s rare to see a whole city agree that something needs to exist and then actually come together and make it happen,” said Dave Pankotai, president and chief executive officer, Seven Counties Services. “We’re grateful to be the ones opening the door, but this was a true community effort. Somebody is going to walk in here on the worst day of their life and find someone waiting for them, that is progress.”
Two years of community work and $1 million in funding from Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and Metro Council made the Centers a reality as Seven Counties Services conducted a behavioral health needs assessment with partners across the city and reached the conclusion that Louisville needed a physical, voluntary place for people in crisis to go. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration defines a functioning crisis system in three parts — someone to contact, someone to respond and a safe place for help. The 988 Lifeline, Seven Counties Services’ Crisis & Information Center, 911 Deflection Team, and the Mobile Crisis Response Team already covered the first two. The Crisis Centers complete the third.
“I’ve made mental health a priority in my administration, creating the first mayoral Office of Behavioral Health in the country,” said Mayor Greenberg. “Mental health is the underlying reason of so many issues we face as a community – from homelessness to addiction and crime. I’m thankful people in Louisville can now walk into a facility and get the immediate help they may desperately need.”
Organizations across Louisville shaped the project, including the Mayor’s Office of Behavioral Health. In addition, Citizens of Louisville Organized and United Together (CLOUT), faith communities, neighborhood organizations, Louisville Metro Emergency Services and Metro Council all contributed to this effort. The Louisville Metro Police Department has committed to training officers to use the Centers as an alternative to hospitals and jails. People will have the opportunity to connect with other community supports while at the Centers for their behavioral health crisis. The Coalition for the Homeless, the Home for Good Team, and Louisville’s Homeless Engagement and Assessment Response Team will help engage people with resources to address housing needs that may accompany a behavioral health crisis. Other community partners will be available either in-person or virtually to help address other needs that may be contributing to the crisis.
“This facility is such an important part of the continuum of care that our community needs to meaningfully impact how we sustainably and appropriately support people in crisis in our community,” said district 8 Metro Councilman Ben Reno-Weber. “I’m proud to be a part of this initiative.”
Seven Counties Services will have clinical and medical staff provide services and will submit charges to Medicaid and private insurance, giving the facility a path to sustain itself beyond its startup funding. The funds from Metro Government will also cover the cost of an evaluation by the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences of the adult Crisis Center to help provide feedback about the program and what additional gaps remain in meeting the needs of people in behavioral health crisis in our community.
About Seven Counties Services
Seven Counties Services is a Certified Community Mental Health Center that offers a full range of mental and behavioral health services, substance use treatment, and intellectual and developmental disabilities services in a seven-county region in Kentucky. Counties served include Jefferson, Oldham, Bullitt, Shelby, Spencer, Trimble, and Henry. Seven Counties Services is fully accredited by The Joint Commission and nationally recognized for effective services and treatments.
