In a move to revamp the current state of mental health services, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with Alliance Health and Promise Resource Network, recently inaugurated a new Peer Respite Center in Wake County. The ribbon cutting ceremony marked the opening of the facility designed to provide a sanctuary for individuals grappling with mental health, substance use, or behavioral health crises.
This community-based peer respite program, located in Raleigh, is amongst the solutions being rolled out to confront the state’s behavioral health challenges head-on. It’s the third of its kind in North Carolina. Offering a less restrictive treatment environment, the center promises around-the-clock accessibility to Peer Support Specialists—those who have walked the rocky path of personal struggle with mental health or substance issues and now stand as beacons of hope.
As noted by the announcement from the NCDHHS, peer respite services are critical in the mosaic of behavioral health crisis response. By providing non-clinical support grounded in lived experience, these services foster a unique form of solace and solidarity. This initiative falls under a broader strategy of deploying part of North Carolina’s monumental $835 million budget earmarked in 2023 for behavioral health improvements.
More than $130 million of that budget is being dedicated directly to enhancing the crisis response system. The aim, as stated on NCDHHS, is to ensure that individuals in the throes of behavioral health crises can find the "right care for them in the most appropriate setting." The media got an exclusive tour of the new Raleigh center, with opportunities to discuss the initiative with Kody H. Kinsley, the Health and Human Services Secretary, highlighted as part of the center’s ceremonial debut.
