Press Release – 7/18/20

July 18, 2020

Back to All News

Stride Center provides safe option for pre-arrest diversion for those in crisis

Join the opening ribbon cutting via a virtual ceremony 

Bloomington, Ind. – The Stride Coalition is proud to announce the opening ceremony for the Stride Center. The Stride Center is a safe place where individuals in crisis can be connected to resources in the community to begin healing. Importantly, The Stride Center offers a place for police to take individuals in-need instead of going into the criminal justice system. 

A socially distanced ribbon-cutting ceremony will be livestreamed to the public to celebrate. To participate in the virtual ceremony, join the Facebook Live on Monday, July 20, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. on the Cook Medical Facebook page.

The Stride Center is one of the first facilities of its kind in the state of Indiana. It functions as a de-escalation place for people who are experiencing a crisis with mental health or substance use disorder, rather than jail or the emergency room. To emphasize the Center’s focus on harm reduction, it will have two full-time therapists, a full-time program manager, two recovery coaches, three peer-support specialists, two nurses and a research associate to assist individuals and connect them to resources in the community. A part-time nurse practitioner will also be available. Complete with showers and laundry facilities, the Center can accommodate up to 25 guests at one time. Not only does this empower individuals to end their cycle of substance use by meeting them where they are, it also avoids unnecessary jail time on their backgrounds that may prevent them from getting a job in the future. The recovery model also frees up police, emergency room personnel, and justice system resources to better serve the rest of the community. Importantly, the Stride Center is free of charge. 

The Stride Center is one of the first initiatives of the Stride Coalition, a group of more than 40 local organizations that joined together to address substance use disorder. Even though there are many resources in Monroe County for people struggling with substance use or mental health crises, many of these resources are not well known. The Stride Coalition’s mission is to mobilize resources, knowledge, and influence to drive a coordinated community-wide substance use treatment effort that helps those coping with this disorder build healthier and more productive lives. When substance use is treated as a public health crisis rather than a criminal one, the community can de-stigmatize substance use disorder and begin to treat the roots of this condition. 

The Stride Center is made possible by $2.1 million in grants and funding from IU Health Community Impact Investment, the IU Health Foundation, and other local organizations. To donate or to learn more about Stride, visit our website at stridecoalition.org. To join the virtual opening ceremony, watch the Facebook Live here on July 20 at 3:00 p.m