Youth and families have a new spot where they can go for mental health services in Buffalo.
Spectrum Health and Human Services’s Riverside Counseling Center on Niagara Street was formally unveiled Tuesday.
Part of what sets Spectrum Health apart is being one of the few community certified behavioral health centers in the area, CEO Cindy Voelker said. The Riverside office significantly expands Spectrum’s capacity to help youth clients, and she expects demand to quickly increase accordingly.
“It can be, you know, a year, two years or more, we outgrow the space. So, we're always looking for opportunities, then to add space," she said. "So I think, because unfortunately and unfortunately, there's a need for services that exceeds, sometimes, what is available.”
The facility has nearly 10 employees on hand, including a nurse practitioner and three to four counselors.
The space is representative of Spectrum’s 15-year partnership with Allentown Pediatrics, and pediatric service's expansion to the Riverside offices is what also has led to the behavioral health location Voelker said.
"People that were there with their kids could just come and see us and bring their kids there, not have to go somewhere else," she said. "And we worked so well together over the years that doing this partnership and expanding together, I don't know that we could have done it alone."
Expanding resources like Spectrum Health fills a critical need, as it can be difficult to find counseling in Buffalo, said Melinda DoBois, executive director of Mental Health Advocates of Western New York.
“We have a lot of wonderful behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment providers," she said. "But the reality is, is that most people don't know how to access that, and they don't know where to start. And sometimes, navigating the mental health system is concerning.”
Youth mental health services are especially needed, since children are dealing with heightened anxiety and suicide rates, as well as social media pressures, DuBois added.
