Southaven Commits $35,000 to DeSoto County Crisis Center
The City of Southaven is putting $35,000 toward a new DeSoto County crisis center, a local mental health facility that officials say will keep people in crisis closer to home and free up police officers and paramedics who now make long trips out of the county. The Southaven Board of Aldermen approved an interlocal agreement with DeSoto County for the crisis center during its Sept. 15 meeting, according to the city’s official agenda.
The money comes from Southaven’s share of the national opioid settlement, not from the city’s general fund, according to reporting by the DeSoto Times-Tribune. The board’s vote was unanimous.
What the DeSoto County crisis center will offer
The facility is being built inside the former DeSoto County Extension Service building on Highway 51. Here is what has been reported about the project so far:
- Size: 16 beds for adults experiencing a mental health crisis
- Cost: about $3.5 million to renovate and build out
- Location: the former county Extension Service building on Highway 51
- Timeline: expected to open in early 2027
Today, when someone in DeSoto County needs a crisis stabilization bed, first responders often have to transport them roughly 90 miles to a facility in Corinth. That trip can take a police officer or an ambulance crew out of service for hours at a time.
Why Southaven leaders backed the plan
Mayor Darren Musselwhite said having a local option matters for both patients and public safety staff. “Having a place to take these people is critical to our future,” Musselwhite said, as quoted by the DeSoto Times-Tribune. He noted that officers often end up handling people who are not criminals, but are simply sick.
City leaders said Southaven police, fire and EMS crews, along with local addiction treatment providers, regularly respond to mental health emergencies that would be better handled in a treatment setting than in a jail cell or an emergency room.
How other DeSoto County cities are helping
Southaven is not the only city chipping in. Olive Branch has pledged $35,000 of its own, and Hernando has committed half of its opioid settlement funds to the project, according to the Times-Tribune report.
Southaven has received about $376,000 in total opioid settlement payments so far, with roughly $41,224 more projected for 2027. Settlement dollars are meant to be spent on programs that address addiction and its effects, which makes a crisis center a natural fit.
What happens next
Work on the Highway 51 building continues, with county officials targeting an opening in early 2027. Residents can follow updates on the project at DeSoto County Board of Supervisors meetings, which are held on the first and third Mondays of each month at the county administration building in Hernando, and at Southaven Board of Aldermen meetings on the first and third Tuesdays at 6 p.m.
Anyone in a mental health crisis right now can call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, at any time of day.
Related coverage: Settlement money in Horn Lake supports Woodland Recovery Center and Southaven swears in 36 students for 2026-27 Mayor’s Youth Council.
Source: City of Southaven Board of Aldermen Agenda, Sept. 15, 2026; additional details from the DeSoto Times-Tribune
