One parent is extremely grateful that a pediatric crisis care center opened in Huntsville.

Mom Brooke Bell says the Wellstone’s pediatric inpatient center has been so helpful to her family.

Her daughter experienced a mental health crisis in May 2025 after years of dealing with depression and anxiety.

“I felt helpless as a mother,” Bell said. “I just felt like I couldn’t give her what she needed. And I knew Wellstone was there. I didn’t know what was going to happen when we drove to Wellstone. We walked in and started talking to the front desk person, and I just immediately started crying, because you don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t know why you’re even there. You just know that you need somebody with the expertise to help you, and that’s what happened.”

Bell said she was pleasantly surprised by the reception. She met with Wellstone workers who calmly reassured her and explained the different options.

Bell’s daughter decided to do the inpatient treatment for two days. Bell said it was a very engaging program that included individual therapy, group therapy, playing games and having time for schoolwork if needed.

Bell was relieved she could put her daughter in a program like this. She heard about it when it was brand new from her neighbor, Karen Peterson, who happens to be the Director of Development of Wellstone, Inc. The pediatric center opened less than a year ago, in September 2024. It’s the first of its kind in Madison County. It has already helped over 300 12 to 18-year-olds.

Before it opened, Peterson said 800 children had to leave the county for extended or inpatient mental health care per year. The closest facility for inpatient mental health care for children was the Decatur West Hospital. It served almost half of Madison County’s children who needed care. The rest had to go as far as Mobile to find help.

“When you have to wait in the ER, sometimes in the hallway, for hours or days, for a bed to open up somewhere, either in Alabama or Tennessee, that really can add trauma to whatever prompted the emergency room visit in the first place,” Peterson said.

Bell’s daughter returned from the program feeling refreshed with a new treatment plan that included counseling, medication and having reminders for medication.

“I see a big difference, the willingness to talk more,” Bell said. “I guess the counselor shared with her, like your parents are doing this out of love. So even just that, a better understanding of where my husband and I come from when we ask her just the reminder-type stuff, and I think she picked up at Wellstone. (…) Even recently, she had a little bit of a down day. And we sat and we talked and it feels better.”

Peterson said the majority of patients are also experiencing crises from depression and anxiety. Major symptoms include suicidal ideations and substance abuse, but they sometimes see cases with psychosis and mania.

She says the program has already grown. The care center started with four beds. It quickly grew to 16 beds since it opened. Wellstone leaders can expand to 24 beds if the demand increases.

Since they are a 501(c)3 non-profit, they don’t turn anyone away. They accept Medicaid and traditional insurance and operate on a sliding scale basis. Peterson says they want to make sure people get the care that they deserve.

“We just want everyone to know that we’re here for them. They aren’t alone,” Peterson said. “So many people, when you’re talking about mental illness and addiction, they still feel overwhelmed by the stigma, and so we want people to know that there are resources available that Wellstone is here, that we are going to welcome them in with open arms and stabilize them as quickly as possible.”

Peterson knows that everyone’s “breaking points” are different. They have several ways to help evaluate a mental health crisis. They have operators for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline number and a mobile crisis team that can go to homes in Madison County and Cullman County. They say they take walk-ins.