Responding to Needs
Crisis Stabilization
Provide immediate, around-the-clock crisis care for youth in acute distress, ensuring children receive timely support in a safe, healing environment designed specifically for them.
We define a behavioral health crisis as a situation in which a young person’s stressors and symptoms exceed their ability to cope and create safety concerns for themselves, their family, or their community.
The Youth Recovery Center will provide behavioral health intervention through a licensed Juvenile Crisis Intervention Center (JCIC) model, creating an urgent-access level of care for youth that does not currently exist in Douglas County, or elsewhere in Kansas at the scale envisioned. Staffed by a multidisciplinary clinical team, the Youth Recovery Center will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, serving as an immediate point of intervention for children and adolescents experiencing an acute behavioral health crisis, including substance use.
The Youth Recovery Center will offer short-term crisis intervention and stabilization, including overnight stays of 1–5 days with eight individual beds for youth needing a higher level of support. Youth will be assessed and triaged to determine the most appropriate next step in care, whether that means short-term stabilization, connection to outpatient services, or other supports.
This integrated, trauma-informed model creates a new approach to youth psychiatric emergency care that is fundamentally different from traditional shelter, respite, or long-term residential settings—helping families access the right care, close to home, when they need it most.
Daniel's Story
Daniel and Sally talk about their experience receiving crisis care at the Treatment & Recovery Center of Douglas County followed by supportive services through Bert Nash.
Restoring Lives
Recovery & Connection
Expand access to outpatient therapy, psychiatric care, and family-centered supports that help young people move beyond crisis toward healing, stability, and hope.
The Youth Recovery Center will bring Bert Nash Center’s youth-focused services together under one roof while expanding access to care. Existing programs, including outpatient therapy, psychological assessments, psychiatric services, and additional behavioral health supports, will relocate to and grow within the Youth Recovery Center.
Current space limitations restrict the number of youth services Bert Nash Center can provide. As of spring 2026, Bert Nash Center has five outpatient therapists serving youth; the Youth Recovery Center will expand that capacity to approximately 17 licensed clinicians. The Youth Recovery Center will also create opportunities for new treatment approaches and individualized care plans tailored to the unique needs of each child and family. By connecting youth to the right level of support and maintaining continuity of care beyond the crisis itself, the Youth Recovery Center will help young people move from immediate stabilization toward long-term healing, resilience, and hope.
JoAnna's Story
JoAnna speaks about her experience seeking care for her children and finding camaraderie in our parental support group.
Building a Healthier Community
Prevention & Systems Change
Create a stronger local system of care by expanding early intervention, reducing unnecessary hospitalizations, and helping more children receive support before a crisis becomes life-altering.
Today, when a child or teen in Douglas County experiences a behavioral health crisis, families often face a fragmented system with no clear place to turn. Youth may be directed to emergency departments, inpatient hospitals, residential treatment facilities, juvenile justice settings, or back home; often without consistent assessment or coordination. This can create confusion, delays in care, and added trauma during an already difficult time.
The Youth Recovery Center will transform that experience by serving as a centralized entry point for youth behavioral health crisis care. Children and families will have a clear pathway to timely assessment, stabilization, and connection to ongoing services.
Beyond supporting individual youth and families, the Youth Recovery Center will strengthen the broader behavioral health system by improving coordination among schools, healthcare providers, first responders, community organizations, and behavioral health partners. By reducing unnecessary hospitalizations, keeping families connected to care close to home, and increasing opportunities for early intervention, the Youth Recovery Center will help build a healthier community where more young people can receive support before challenges escalate into long-term crises.
It’s important to note that all services planned for in this location have strong financial support through existing mechanisms and payors, inclusive of our Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) designation, making the upfront capital investment a sound return on investment.
Bert Nash Center has provided youth services for over 75 years. The cost of these services are covered through a combination of insurance, Medicaid, and self-pay so that Bert Nash Center does not require philanthropic support to provide these services. Based on this long history, we are confident that once operating the Youth Recovery Center will be self-sustaining.
By the Numbers
We Need Your Support
To start making an immediate impact on the lives of children and youth, $12 million must be raised as soon as possible to renovate Youth Recovery Center. Our funding strategy is to secure contributions from private philanthropy ($6 million), government sources ($4 million), and foundations and corporations ($2 million).
Youth Recovery Center News
Support from Community Partners
"Healthy children make healthy families which will translate to a healthy community and state. We are happy to endorse the work of the Youth Recovery Center. I can't think of a more important endeavor than meeting the needs of children, youth, and families when they are in crisis, and we are happy to partner with Bert Nash in this important project." Gina Meier-Hummel, LMSW Executive Director O’Connell Children’s Shelter
"The Youth Recovery Center would represent a significant advancement in our community's capacity to meet the mental health needs of young people. It would allow students to receive urgent behavioral health care close to home and school, reducing disruptions to their learning, supporting family involvement, and strengthening coordination between schools and mental health providers. We see firsthand the impact of untreated mental health concerns on learning, engagement, and long-term outcomes. This center would fill a critical gap in our local system of care and directly support the mission of public education to ensure every student has what they need to succeed." Dr. Jeanice Swift Superintendent Lawrence Public Schools
“As the Children’s Advocacy Center serving Douglas County, we strongly support the Bert Nash Center’s initiative to establish the Youth Recovery Center (YRC). This groundbreaking project will provide critical resources to children, teens, and families in our community, including psychiatric emergency and crisis intervention services, along with expanded outpatient programs for mental health and substance use. Protecting children and guiding them toward healing is our collective responsibility. There is no time to wait – these services are urgently needed.” Bev Turner Executive Director Children’s Advocacy Center of Douglas County
"On behalf of Lawrence‑Douglas County Public Health (LDCPH), I am writing to express support for the development of Bert Nash’s Youth Recovery Center (YRC). Douglas County currently lacks access to local inpatient psychiatric care for youth, leaving families with limited options during moments of crisis. The YRC represents a critical and much‑needed expansion of services for our community. Supporting the YRC reflects our commitment to building systems and conditions that promote communitywide Health. The center will play an important role in enhancing access to care for youth and families, improving coordination across services, and ensuring that behavioral health needs are met in ways that are responsive, developmentally appropriate, and supportive for all." Jonathan Smith Executive Director Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health
"Mental health crisis support and services for our young people is vitally important, especially when they're facing crisis situations that put their immediate health and well-being at risk. From all corners of our society, we are hearing of the need for improved crisis services for young people facing mental health and addiction hardships. We see this need reflected in media stories, data from our school districts and public health departments, feedback from our physicians and clinicians in the emergency room and primary care clinics, and the personal experiences of friends, family and acquaintances. We are grateful to Bert Nash Center for their expanded programs and services that provide care for our young people in crisis. The Youth Recovery Center will be an important component of the continuum of services we are developing in this community. LMH Health is proud to collaborate with BNC in caring for our community’s physical, emotional, behavioral, preventative, chronic and crisis health conditions. This will be another important aspect of that care." Dr. Shelly Kortkamp President & CEO LMH Health
“Heartland Community Health Center, the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Douglas County, KS, is proud to express our full support for the Bert Nash Center’s initiative to establish the Youth Recovery Center (YRC). The groundbreaking project will introduce essential services to children, teens and families in our community, such as a psychiatric emergency and crisis intervention program and expanded intensive outpatient services for mental health and substance use.” Julie Branstrom Chief Executive Officer Heartland Community Health Center
“On behalf of The Chamber, Lawrence, we strongly support this effort as the wellbeing of children and families is foundational to both a healthy community and a strong local economy. When children have timely access to mental and behavioral health care, families experience greater stability, parents are better able to remain in the workforce, and students are positioned for long term success. Communities that invest in supporting children and families create the conditions businesses need to attract talent, retain employees, and grow with confidence." Bonnie Lowe President & CEO The Chamber, Lawrence
Bert Nash Center Youth Offer Design Feedback
Our summer youth groups helped shape the future Youth Recovery Center by sharing their ideas on the room design, colors, and logos. We're incredibly grateful for their creativity, insight, and valuable feedback.
