Major plans are in the works to tackle mental health and drug abuse in South central Kentucky.

This legislative session, that General Assembly included $20 million in the budget for the anchor project.

It will fund an intake center with trained staff to help people in crisis.

Several community leaders and organizations are involved, including life skills, the Barron River Area Development District and the Department of Behavioral Health.

It aims to help people get the treatment they need instead of being arrested.

Here's the thing We decriminalized mental health years ago, but yet we're still transporting people in cruisers.

We're still handcuffing people who are a danger to themselves or others because of the law.

And so then the police get to sit with them for maybe hours, depending on their physical health before evaluation.

And that doesn't help them.

That doesn't help someone in a mental health crisis.

So this is designed to be a drop off center specifically for police, not only for the community, but for police officers to drop them off so they don't have to sit with the police, don't escalate our clients and they're back on the street working.

And that's where they should be.

And the clients are getting the help they need.

Bowling Green City leaders say the intake center will also alleviate stress on local jails, hospitals and health departments.

And all of those agencies are going to have a place when they come across folks that are that are having a mental health crisis or substance abuse crisis to actually take these folks and get them real help from mental health professionals.

Every agency does a good job with the cards they're handed.

But this is a new decade cards.

This is a new way to handle this situation and hopefully proactively prevent folks from spiraling into life of homelessness or desperation in or continue with substance abuse.

This is real help from real mental health professionals at the beginning, and so we're pretty excited about it.

The goal is for the facility to be up and running by July of next year.

It will serve at least ten area counties in the Bowling Green area.

Kentucky Edition will continue to follow the project's development and progress.