BUNNELL, Fla. — Flagler County held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new mental health crisis center in Bunnell on Tuesday.

The Flagler Access Center will offer both mental and behavioral health programs. It’s a moment residents like Sue Urban have been waiting years for.

“It’s very emotional,” she said.

In 2018, her son Nicholas took his own life.

The devastating loss turned her into a mental health advocate, and she’s made it her life mission to get people the resources they need during a mental crisis, especially for her neighbors in Flagler County.

“Having this here is a huge jump and leap for our community, and I hope that we can keep moving forward,” Urban said.

The new facility's opening brought tears to her eyes once the ribbon was cut — before this, the closest 24-hour crisis facility was in Daytona Beach.

Transportation problems were making difficult crisis situations even tougher, so Urban said she knows just how vital the services offered in the new building will be for her community.

“Once they’re there, there’s no transportation back to Flagler County,” she said of traveling to a facility outside the county.

A local facility should help cut down on those issues, she said.

On top of the mental health services, a handful of other programs will be offered to those in need, including substance abuse counseling, medical outpatient services and a school counseling program that offers mental health therapy.

In 2020, 25 people committed suicide in Flagler County.

Urban said she believes that the new center can help save lives going forward. She’s just proud to see the building come to fruition, and she’s happiest for the resources now available in her community.

“Sometimes it’s easier to ask for help from a stranger than it is a friend,” she said.