Benton County Crisis Center Ribbon Cutting Remarks
June 20, 2025
Good afternoon, everyone.
It’s an honor to be here today. This center is a place built not only from bricks and mortar, but from compassion, collaboration, and a belief that Oregon can do better for those facing a mental health crisis.
People seeking a safe, stable place to overcome a crisis and begin the process of healing and rejuvenation will have one here. All thanks to the people gathered here today who helped this vision become a reality.
Nonprofits, hospitals, advocates, law enforcement, peer support workers, and others rooted in this community came together in advocacy, unified vision, and persistence. You helped shape a model of care that truly reflects the needs of Benton County, filling a critical gap in the healthcare continuum and diverting individuals from higher levels of care when they can be better served in community.
Construction crews, architects, designers, and many others brought this building to life to create a space that is calming, welcoming, and dignified. You each made decisions around the details that each play a role in telling the person walking through the door – “You matter.”
And, there are the local leaders and elected officials who supported this project from day one—your commitment and leadership paved the way for a future where help is available when and where it’s needed most.
This center is a result of our state’s ongoing work to create more spaces and places for people to get help. We have to push harder to get Oregonians the treatment they need and deserve. There is simply too much pain on our streets, in our homes, in our schools.
Everyone who contributed to the effort to make this center a reality is playing a role in rewriting the story of what mental health care can look like in Oregon. I’ve made it a priority to increase behavioral health treatment capacity across our state—because access to timely, effective mental health care should be the rule, not the exception.
Facilities like this don’t happen by accident. They happen because of dedicated professionals, advocates, and community partners who believe in a better way. I want to thank each and every person who helped bring this vision to life—from the planners and clinicians to the construction crews and case workers. Your work will change lives.
Thank you for believing in this vision. Thank you for making it real. Now, let’s open these doors and welcome a new chapter of care, dignity, and healing.
Thank you, and let’s cut that ribbon.