COMAL COUNTY, Texas – Comal County Judge Deborah Wigington often sees people experiencing a mental health crisis in her courtroom, as do law enforcement officers who encounter them in the community.

It’s often people who are experiencing suicidal or homicidal ideations or even psychosis. In those cases, people are sent to facilities in San Antonio, Kerrville or even Waco to check into a mental facility.

Last year in Comal County, there were 581 Emergency Detentions by Law Enforcement in which a person was deemed a danger to themselves or others and taken to a mental health facility outside of Comal County.

There were 37 that were court-ordered to a mental facility, and 54 more were placed in protective custody.

Wingington runs the mental health court and says there are problems with sending people away from their families. “We’re having to send them out to other counties to get that treatment. Once they’re in the other counties, they’re being taken away from their families, taken out of their communities. And we’re using community resources in the form of law enforcement to drive them out of our community,” she said.

In about a year, the community will host a grand opening for an $8.5 million mental health facility near the Comal County Sheriff’s Office in New Braunfels.

Hill Country MHDD Centers will operate the facility, and Anthony Winn will be the director.

The center works with 19 counties in the area.

Winn said having more beds will help counties along the I-35 corridor.

“It will mean that we’re able to keep people closer to home if they are in crisis in Comal County,” he said. “And it will also mean that there is a shorter distance for law enforcement to drive when they’re transporting somebody.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call 9-8-8.