C3356 – A Partnership for Buncombe & Surrounding Counties

For more than 10 years, western North Carolina, along with the rest of the country, has seen an ever-rising number of people experiencing behavioral health crisis.

Individuals with mental health, substance abuse, and behavioral health problems associated with intellectual and developmental disabilities have faced an acute need for support and treatment with insufficient resources to help.

Now, behavioral health advocates in Asheville and surrounding areas, including the Asheville Chapter of the Links and NAMI-WC, are witnessing a shared vision become reality.

Thanks to a committed group of partners, a new resource is now available at 356 Biltmore Avenue in Asheville. Smoky Mountain MCO led the way with a vision for a comprehensive care center that would provide a 24-hour crisis response, paired with robust outpatient services. A willing partner, RHA Health Services, provided the badly needed services.

Also joining the partnership are Buncombe County Health and Human Services, Mission Health, Asheville Buncombe Christian Ministries (ABCCM), and The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Western Carolina. The NC Department of Health and Human Services Crisis Solutions Initiative provided a portion of the grant funding to develop this innovative service.

The new center, C3 at 356 (C3356), is designed to provide crisis intervention, response, and stabilization within the context of a recovery-oriented and community resilience system of care. Housed at a single location, the comprehensive care model is designed to facilitate a seamless approach to continuity of care. The program offers individuals in crisis the opportunity to begin or continue in the recovery process through treatment, support, and education from familiar peer support specialists and clinicians with whom rapport and trust has been established.

The service continuum at C3356 includes walk-in services, 24/7 behavioral health urgent care, and a peer living room program, as well as a full array of outpatient services. Additionally, the ABCCM 356 Pharmacy housed within the comprehensive care center ensures that individuals are able to fill prescriptions on the day that they are written.

The peer living room, an inviting, home-like environment, is led by individuals who have their own recovery experiences and who can offer hope, support, wellness activities, and resource information. People who want to engage with peer specialists as a part of their recovery journey are welcomed at the peer living room. NAMI Western Carolina, also located at C3356, offers compassion, advocacy, education and support for individuals and family members.

The C3356 vision provides an experience vastly superior to crowded hospital emergency rooms. C3356 is designed to offer support, hope, safety, and real options for recovery. For access to services call (828) 254-2700.