A Lifeline for Memphis

There are moments when a family needs help right away. A moment when someone feels overwhelmed, confused, frightened or simply unable to carry their burden alone. For many in Memphis and Shelby County, Alliance Healthcare Services is the place that offers respite in those moments. Their work is both deeply personal and quietly transformative, touching the lives of children, teens, adults and families who need someone to turn to.

Alliance's story began in July 2013 when Southeast Mental Health Center and Comprehensive Counseling Network came together to form a unified organization. What started as a merger quickly became a turning point for the region. With their combined strengths, Alliance became the largest provider of comprehensive behavioral health care in Shelby County, with a broader reach and a stronger ability to serve communities throughout the area.

In 2017, the organization advanced its commitment to safer, more compassionate crisis response through the Pre-Arrest Diversion grant. One year later, Laurie Powell assumed the role of CEO, ushering in a new chapter of leadership. By 2022, Alliance operated 18 locations throughout the county, offering outpatient and intensive outpatient services, addiction treatment, peer support, housing programs and crisis care for people of all ages. The goal has always been simple: meet people where they are and help them find their footing again.

A significant milestone came with the groundbreaking of the Crisis Wellness Center, Alliance's first brick-and-mortar facility. The ceremony, attended by Governor Bill Lee, marked an important investment in the future of crisis care. The 55-square-foot building represents a thirty-four million dollar commitment to creating a safe, supportive alternative to emergency rooms and incarceration for adults in crisis. Inside, there are thirty crisis stabilization beds and fifteen detox beds for medically monitored withdrawal care, making it the only program of its kind in Shelby County for uninsured individuals.

On a recent tour of the facility, Dianna Barzizza, Director of Development and Marketing of The Alliance Foundation, walked through the intention behind every space and design feature of the building. "This building feels very normal. We're working to normalize this experience and help everyone understand that getting help doesn't have to be complicated or scary. It can be easy, calm, and welcoming." It is a place designed to help people return to stability with respect, privacy and attentive care.

The Crisis Wellness Center reflects Alliance's guiding belief that people deserve comfort and understanding during their hardest moments. Some individuals arrive after calling the 24/7 Crisis Line, which sends trained staff into the community to help. Other patients walk into the facility on their own or accompanied by loved ones.

Many patients come through collaborative programs with law enforcement that allow individuals in crisis to receive care rather than enter the justice system. "If a first responder brings someone to an ER and there's no bed, they have to stay with them for hours. At the Crisis Center, they pull into the secure sally port, buzz the back door, our team completes an assessment, and the first responder can leave within five minutes. Getting first responders back on the street quickly is great for our city's resources—and this is their preferred place to bring people," Diana explained in a spacious receiving room. These partnerships have changed how Memphis responds to behavioral health emergencies and are helping thousands of people receive the right support at the right time.

Diana emphasizes that the Crisis Wellness Center was built to remove barriers, especially for people who have historically been unable to access mental health or detox services. "One of the biggest misconceptions is that you need insurance to come here. You don't. We see everyone, no matter what they have or don't have. Our detox program is the only one in Shelby County for uninsured individuals, and that matters because most of those who need these services have nowhere else to go. If someone is in crisis, we will take care of them. There are no financial barriers, no complicated paperwork and no one is turned away. The whole point of this place is to make treatment immediate and accessible for the people who would fall through the cracks elsewhere." Alliance's message is clear: care should be available the moment someone needs it.

As meaningful as this progress has been, Alliance is preparing to take an even more hopeful step. Early 2026 will bring the opening of the Children and Youth Crisis Wellness Center (CYCWC), the second phase of the Crisis Wellness Campus on Broad Avenue. The Alliance Foundation supports the CYCWC, which is dedicated to young people ages four through seventeen experiencing a behavioral health crisis. CYCWC will be the only dedicated youth crisis stabilization facility in West Tennessee.

Shelby County faces some of the highest rates of childhood trauma and behavioral health hospitalizations in Tennessee, and many families wait months for a child to access mental health services. "Children are waiting up to sixteen days for a bed in the ER for mental health or substance abuse issues. Then they wait up to six months for a doctor's visit. With this model, we'll be able to see them in five minutes. No one else in the city is offering anything like this," Diana offered. The new center will change that. The 10,000-square-foot space will be open 24/7, offering walk-in support, a fifteen-bed crisis stabilization unit for short-term psychiatric care, on-site clinical staff, and family-centered services.

The design focuses on reducing stress through soft lighting, sensory tools, quiet architecture, and separate intake and treatment areas. Diana describes how an outdoor space can give patients and staff a sense of calm that is unique: "We built full outdoor spaces where patients can get some fresh air after group therapy or meals and just breathe. Rocking chairs, natural light, quiet. It's a true mental-health hospital where employees can heal, patients can recover, and the environment actually supports their wellbeing."

Caring for others, especially in moments of crisis, can be emotionally demanding, so the center was created to nurture the people who work inside it. "Our employees work seven-to-seven shifts, and it's stressful. So this building was designed with the employee experience in mind as well. They can come to our office area to rest, reset and even set up an office. We've created so much space in this building for our partners and our team."

The crisis centers aim to reduce emergency room visits and juvenile detention placements that stem from mental health crises, strengthen family stability through immediate wraparound care and provide culturally informed access to services for vulnerable youth. Alliance's commitment to build a new standard of excellence in pediatric crisis care for the region is evident.

Together, the Crisis Wellness Center for adults and the new Children and Youth Crisis Wellness Center tell a shared story of a community investing in healing. It is the story of families who feel less alone and more supported. And it is the story of an organization that continues to grow so it can meet every person, at every age, exactly where they are.

Want to get involved?

Crisis Wellness Center - Adult

1. Schedule a tour

Get involved: thealliancefoundation.org/let-s-connect

Email: dbarzizza@thealliancefoundation.org

2. Support crisis care with a donation

Contributions help fund clinicians, crisis stabilization services and the final phase of the Children and Youth Crisis Wellness Center.

Donate: thealliancefoundation.org

3. Share the 24/7 crisis line

Help spread awareness of the immediate support available for adults experiencing mental health or substance use crises.

Crisis Line: 901-369-1410

Children & Youth Crisis Wellness Center