Camden County will get its long-stalled 988 mental health crisis center after Gov. Mikie Sherrill's administration identified $16.45 million to fund stabilization facilities across five New Jersey counties, giving Cherry Hill-area residents a local alternative to hospital emergency departments for behavioral health crises.

The announcement, made the week of Aug. 18, resolves a funding shortfall that had left Camden County and four other communities without promised walk-in crisis centers. The Courier reported July 30 that a gap of more than $29 million had stalled the Camden County facility after the state budget enacted in late June included no money for crisis stabilization.

The $16.45 million package combines $14.95 million in state funds with $1.5 million from a federal Mental Health Block Grant through the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, according to NJ Spotlight News. The state portion draws on $8.66 million in unused fiscal year 2026 appropriations and $6.3 million carried forward from fiscal year 2025.

Crisis Receiving and Stabilization Centers are planned for Bergen, Camden, Essex, Monmouth and Morris counties. The facilities will allow walk-in access without an appointment for people experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, offering immediate assessment, stabilization, treatment and connections to ongoing care.

"988 is more than a phone number," said Stephen Cha, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services. "It is the front door to a behavioral health crisis system that must have somewhere to take people when they reach out for help or for people to walk-in without an appointment when they need help."

No opening date has been set for the Camden County center. Department of Human Services spokeswoman Eva Loayza-McBride said the agency is working with providers to determine start dates based on readiness and available funding.

Permanent funding still uncertain

Mental health advocates welcomed the allocation but called it a stopgap. Carolyn Beauchamp, president and CEO of the Mental Health Association in New Jersey, said the centers need a lasting revenue source.

"We have to figure out a way to get it permanently funded," Beauchamp said.

She argued that crisis stabilization keeps people out of hospitals, which she called traumatic and far more expensive than short-term care. "Once you go into an institution, the prices, skyrocket," she said.

The Department of Human Services will need additional funding to keep the centers running after fiscal year 2027 ends June 30, 2027. The agency is pursuing federal Medicaid dollars to help offset costs, though a legislative proposal to create a dedicated phone-line surcharge for the 988 system appears unlikely to pass amid high inflation.

The nearly $61 billion state budget enacted in late June included $28.8 million for 988 call centers and mobile response teams, the same amount as the prior year, but nothing for the stabilization facilities that complete the crisis-care system.

The Department of Human Services has not named a specific provider or location within Camden County for the planned center.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.