Childhood comes with an array of feelings and emotions. We met five of them in an animated children’s film: joy, sadness, disgust, anger, and fear.
Like adults, all children feel sad, anxious, irritable, or aggressive at times. They may find it challenging to sit still, pay attention, or interact with others. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, in most cases, these are typical developmental phases. However, in some children, such behaviors may also indicate a more serious issue.
In a post-pandemic world, the World Health Organization has noted a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents. With the rise in mental health struggles in children comes the need for affordable services to treat those most vulnerable.
Help is On the Way in South Florida
According to Community Health of South Florida, Inc. (CHI), there are 181,000 children in the Sunshine State living with serious mental illness.
More than half of the children facing mental health struggles are not receiving the help they need due to a lack of resources and access, according to CHI’s website.
“As the world and communities around us continue to evolve, it has become even more important to focus on the mental health of our youth,” said Blake Hall, CEO of Community Health of South Florida, Inc. “The development and construction of a crisis center dedicated to children and their well-being has been on our radar for some time and this free-standing facility will provide immediate support to families in south Florida.”
Hall noted that when completed the facility will further reduce barriers to care so that children in need can be served closer to their homes and the communities they live in.
The 11,400-square-foot facility will specialize in providing behavioral health service to children aged 4-17 who are suffering from severe psychiatric distress. By 2025, the Children’s Crisis Center will care for and treat 1.000 children and will be open 24 hours per day. The in-patient facility will house a team of board-certified psychiatrists, social workers, counselors and clinicians ready to provide personalized care, regardless of a family’s ability to pay.
As a nonprofit provider of healthcare to vulnerable, low-income populations, CHI has relied on public grants and other fundraising to raise capital for this critical project. To date the organization has been awarded $4.2 million in public grants and has also committed $6.2MM in equity to the project.
Enter New Markets Tax Credits
By utilizing New Markets Tax Credits, the Children’s Crisis Center will provide more than 30 jobs in this community in Miami.
“Traditional financing would have added an estimated $1.5 million in additional financing costs to the project, compromising the entire scope,” noted Oscar Herrera, Regions Commercial Banking relationship manager in Miami. “By utilizing New Markets Tax Credits, the Children’s Crisis Center will provide more than 30 jobs in this community in Miami.”
The New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) investment from Regions provided the balance of the capital to complete this critical $13 million project that will bring much-needed mental health services to a largely underserved population. The Children’s Crisis Center broke ground in October 2023 and is scheduled to open to patients and their families in late 2025.
“The NMTC equity is filling a critical financing gap for a project that would otherwise need to rely on future philanthropic contributions in a challenging fundraising environment, potentially delaying access to the much-needed mental health services the center will provide,” noted Katia Izyumova, Regions New Markets Tax Credits relationship manager.
“The Regions team was instrumental in the success of the project, said Jeremy Radziewicz, Chief Financial Officer of CHI. “The knowledge and experience of the team combined with the competitive bid they offered was a key reason this transaction moved so smoothly.
The NTMC equity is filling a critical financing gap for a project that would otherwise need to rely on future philanthropic contributions in a challenging fundraising environment, potentially delaying access to the much-needed mental health services the center will provide.
A History of Care
CHI has been providing quality, affordable primary and behavioral health services to the Miami-Dade and Monroe County communities for more than 50 years. As shared on the organization’s website, CHI’s beginning dates back to the 1960s when many residents of South Miami-Dade County had limited access to a hospital. These were predominantly African American, Bahamian and Mexican migrant and seasonal farm workers who were largely uninsured and often had no access to healthcare.
Among the visionaries seeking to bring healthcare to this underserved community was Doris Ison, a Bahamian immigrant for whom CHI’s headquarters building is named after. In 1971, Ison helped bring together community leaders to establish Community Health of South Dade Incorporated, born out of two trailers with volunteer doctors.
Today, CHI operates 13 state-of-the art health centers across Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.
The Children’s Crisis Center will be located at 10300 Southwest 216 St., in Miami.