Collier County mental health center receives $4 million donation

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A giant donation is dedicated to providing people with better mental health care in Southwest Florida.

The David Lawrence Center got a $4 million donation to create an integrated care center.

The David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health (DLC) works to tackle the mental health crisis in Collier County, but not without help.

Philanthropists Jeff and Julie Diermeier wanted to make a difference and had the means to do so.

“We basically made our careers and our money from the investment management industry, which is actually good economic sense to help people, particularly at an early stage,” said Jeff Diermeier.

The Diermeier Family Foundation donated $4 million to DLC to go towards the Diermeier Access and Integrated Care Center, a walk-in type mental health facility.

“If we can identify some mental health issues, from a society standpoint, it’s going to save a lot of money. It’s going to save a lot of pain. It’s going to save a lot of. That anxiety on the part of the community if we can help these people early,” said Diermeier.

“I think it’s one of the areas of that is sort of overlooked. It’s kind of an invisible problem,” said Julie Diermeier.

Scott Burgess, the CEO of DLC, explained the walk-in concept.

“This new building is really going to be Collier County‘s version of behavioral health urgent care,” said Burgess.

It will aid people who can’t wait weeks for a therapist appointment but aren’t necessarily in immediate danger.

“What we want to do is we want to break down every barrier that there is to receiving care, so if people can just come to a walk-in clinic and receive that support that’s going to be so helpful for them,” said Burgess.

It’s another resource to tackle a growing need Florida lacks.

According to a Forbes Advisor comparison, Florida ranks fourth worst for mental health care of all 50 states.

“Let’s see what we can do about and make some major strides so that someday that stigma is largely evaporated and we have some good mental health services in Collier County,” said Diermeier.

Once this facility is built, a facility for children will be built shortly after, called the Children’s Center of Excellence.

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