BestSelf Behavioral Health Awarded $250,000 for its Intensive Crisis Stabilization Center

BestSelf Behavioral Health Awarded $250,000 From Patrick P. Lee Foundation

Will Help Support the New BestResponse Intensive Crisis Center a “One-of-a-Kind” Facility in WNY

Buffalo, NY – BestSelf Behavioral Health (BBH) announced today that it has received a generous $250,000 grant from the Patrick P. Lee Foundation to fund supplemental improvement projects at the BestResponse Intensive Crisis Center. These enhancements will improve the experience for both visitors and first responders and include upgrades to access control and security systems. The new 24/7 facility is designed to support individuals of all ages experiencing mental health or substance use crises.

Opening this fall at 430 Niagara Street in Buffalo, the BestResponse Center will offer a calm, supportive place where people can stay for up to 23 hours and 59 minutes. During that time, they will receive immediate help from trained professionals through counseling, medication support, and connections to follow-up care, all in a welcoming, trauma-informed setting.

The new center was created to fill a major gap in local behavioral health services. Right now, people in crisis often end up in hospital emergency rooms, where they may wait for days just to be assessed. BestResponse is a hospital diversion program that aims to change that issue by providing a faster, more compassionate option to stabilize and connect people to the right level of care, while avoiding unnecessary psychiatric hospitalizations or inpatient rehab stays.

“We are deeply grateful to the Patrick P. Lee Foundation for their generous support of the BestResponse Intensive Crisis Center,” said Elizabeth Woike, CEO of BestSelf Behavioral Health. “This investment will strengthen our ability to provide timely, compassionate care to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, while also supporting the first responders who rely on the center. It ensures that those in need receive the right support at the right time.”

BestResponse is one of only a handful of intensive crisis stabilization centers being developed across New York State and was awarded to BestSelf through a highly competitive request for proposals (RFP) process. The selection reflects both the high-level of need in Western New York and BestSelf’s reputation for delivering innovative, community-based behavioral health services.

BestSelf is working closely with regional partners, including ECMC, Crisis Services of Western New York, and local emergency responders, to design how the center will operate. Together, they are creating a coordinated system that helps individuals get the right care quickly, reducing strain on hospitals and emergency rooms. This initiative marks a new era of collaboration in helping children and families impacted by child abuse and trauma. 

This Intensive Crisis Stabilization Center-ICSC is integral part of a larger initiative called the Crisis to Care Collaborative. A first-of-its-kind collaboration, with leadership and funding from Patrick P. Lee Foundation and support from the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation, this groundbreaking initiative unites municipal and county government, law enforcement and emergency services, healthcare and behavioral health providers, advocates, and people with lived experience.

“BestResponse addresses a critical gap in our region’s continuum of care by offering individuals in behavioral health crisis a compassionate alternative to hospital emergency departments,” said Jane Mogavero, Executive Director of the Patrick P. Lee Foundation. “Through the Crisis to Care Collaborative, the Lee Foundation is proud to partner with BestSelf and other community stakeholders to develop a behavioral health crisis response system that prioritizes recovery. The launch of BestResponse is a meaningful step forward in achieving that vision.”