Plans to divert people suffering mental health crisis from jails, ER evolve in Kent County
Updated Jan 21, 2021;
Posted Jan 21, 2021
A patient bed is shown inside the Jay and Betty Van Andel Center is shown in this 2019 file photo. Plans to bring a centrally located mental health crisis center to Kent County have evolved. (MLive file photo)
Cory Morse | MLive.com
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GRAND RAPIDS, MI The plan to divert people suffering mental health crises from jails and emergency rooms to a crisis center in Kent County has evolved to potentially include mobile crisis response units, a central behavioral health call center and two crisis campuses.
How Van Andel Arena, DeVos Place are using $2M in COVID relief funds
Updated Dec 11, 2020;
Posted Dec 11, 2020
FILE PHOTO - A view of the DeVos Place Convention Center in downtown Grand Rapids on Sunday, November 3, 2013. (Andrew Kuhn | MLive.com)
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But the board that manages the venues isn’t sitting idle.
Thanks to a roughly $2 million federal coronavirus relief grant, the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority (CAA) is making a series of health and safety improvements to the three venues, including new air purification systems, sanitation equipment, touchless drinking fountains and personal protective equipment.
“In my view, the CARE funding is incredibly important, because it allows us to come out of the gate fully prepared to meet the public in a very safe and protected way,” said Steve Heacock, who chairs the CAA.