Westminster approves funds for mental health, withdrawal services

BY LUKE ZARZECKI LZARZECKI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Westminster City Council unanimously voted on Jan. 23 to contribute to the Jefferson Center for Mental Health, a program that provides services for community members experiencing withdrawal and mental health crises.

The city will support the Center with $41,289. Other cities that signed on include Arvada, Edgewater, Golden, Lakewood and Wheat Ridge.

“In addition to providing detoxification and substance withdrawal services, Jefferson Center works closely with law enforcement to provide Crisis Services to help de-escalate, provide support, and direct individuals in crisis to the appropriate level of care,” the meeting’s agenda reads.

Some of the services include a walk-in crisis center open 24/7, a mobile crisis team and withdrawal management.

The Jefferson Center for Mental Health was born out of the Arapahoe House in Wheat Ridge. According to the meeting’s agenda, the House became insolvent and turned over all detoxification services to the Center in 2017.

Then, each city agreed to give the center $500,000 in total funding from all the cities. Individual amounts were calculated based on the percentage of each city’s population.