The “soft opening” last week for a state-run Behavioral Health Crisis Center (BHCC) in a city-owned Iwilei building is a positive step for the state and city governments, a cooperative arrangement that increases reach and efficiency for both. Above all, it meets an urgent need for mental health crisis care that affects all of Hawaii.

The need is great, as the facility will serve those in crisis, particularly those who are suicidal, as identified by law enforcement. The center serves as a first point of care and assessment for those experiencing this extreme situation, which calls for urgent intervention. While the center has a focus on serving the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless, it will be open to other vulnerable people in crisis — anyone who needs its specialized services.

As a facility where clients receive evaluation and stabilization, the crisis care center fills a “puka” — missing piece — in mental health care on Oahu, said Kenneth Fink, director of the state Department of Health (DOH). At this initial stage, the two-story center will provide triage, providing a portal to refer clients for extended care, shelter and treatment.

The BHCC’s mission is to provide “compassionate mental health care” in a supportive environment, DOH states. It will serve people who have long been homeless — and whose homelessness itself contributes to mental illness — and those whose mental illness may have left them unable to care for themselves, as well as those suffering from the damaging effects of drug use.

The state’s move into the building at 806 Iwilei Road — also site of Honolulu’s Iwilei Resource Center, a medical respite center operated by the city’s Crisis Outreach Response and Engagement (CORE) team — helps the city make good use of space that’s long been frustratingly underutilized. The sticking point: Funding for the $17 million building, largely obtained during the previous mayor’s administration, includes federally guaranteed bonds that require the facility to include affordable housing — but Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration has not been able to come to terms with a suitable housing provider. Completed in 2021, the building sat vacant until June 2023, when it was partially occupied by CORE. The state started moving in earlier this year.

The city is required to retain control of the property, which prohibits granting a long-term lease. Therefore, the state’s agreement with Honolulu is for 12 months, with an unlimited number of extensions. No rent is paid to the city, but the state pays all costs to operate and maintain the crisis center, estimated at about $6.7 million annually. Call it a win-win situation.

Crisis serv­ice is part of a continuum of care here, in that clients are assessed for their needs and offered graduated levels of help, such as outpatient care and longer-term treatment. Some clients may be able to return home with referrals after being stabilized at the BHCC; others may transfer to other facilities.

Initially, BHCC clients will include people identified as suicidal by law enforcement, as well as clients referred from hospital emergency rooms. The center can shelter 16 people in a state of “initial crisis” for up to 24 hours. It is also equipped with beds that can hold more-stable patients for a longer duration. That’s of particular value to currently overcrowded hospital emergency rooms.

In the long run, a far more robust response network to coordinate response and care between state and counties, and serve those with mental illness, is necessary. Homelessness and overcrowding at other facilities, including the State Hospital in Kaneohe and Hawaii’s correctional complexes, provide evidence of that. Utilization of this building, with cooperation between the city and state, is a very good step in the right direction.