CARMEL – People were passionate on both sides of the aisle when testifying at a Carmel Planning Board public hearing last month on a plan to locate a stabilization center in Carmel.
Carmel Town Hall in Mahopac was packed with about 150 residents for the emotionally charged session.
The United States is facing a behavioral health crisis and Putnam County is not immune.
The crisis stabilization center will allow those in mental hygiene crisis, be it substance abuse or mental health, to voluntarily visit the facility staffed by licensed clinicians, nurses, and peer specialists in a less traumatic experience than a hospital emergency room.
After two sites for the center fell through in 2023, a new site was selected to be operated by People USA at 1071 Stoneleigh Ave. in Carmel, providing whole health assessments in addition to motivational interviewing and de-escalation.
Commissioner of Mental Health and Social Services Sara Servadio said the benefits of such a program for Putnam County included significantly reduced preventable hospital ER visits, inpatient admissions and re-admissions; reduction in preventable criminal justice involvement; reductions in overall healthcare spending while creating what Servadio called a “welcoming gateway to Putnam County’s broader health and human services system.”
Servadio said increasing rates of mental health issues, the opioid epidemic, crisis, social isolation, economic stress, housing instability, suicide and the trauma created by lives lost due to COVID had placed a tremendous burden on her department.
During the two-hour-long hearing that night most speakers indicated a center was needed, however, dozens of speakers objected to its proposed location citing that the hamlet of Carmel is already saturated with facilities assisting those in need of mental health and alcohol abuse problems.
The center’s proposed location is adjacent to the Putnam Rail Trail where a woman was attacked last fall by a homeless man, as well as near an over-55 senior housing complex. The Putnam Plaza Shopping Center is also within walking distance.
Numerous residents of The Retreat, including a woman who identified herself as a psychologist, charged that Carmel had become “destabilized. No one is questioning the need for services. We just need another location.”
As the hearing ended, Planning Board Chairman Craig Paeprer reported no decision was going to be made that evening indicating a ruling might be forthcoming in December.
The board met Thursday evening however the stabilization center was not on the agenda.
Planning Board Secretary Rose Trombetta advised, “Our next regular meeting is January 8, 2026. Please check back then.”