The King County Council (KCC) voted to send the Crisis Care Centers Levy to King County Voters for the April ballot on Tuesday. The $1.25 billion proposal would be paid out over nine years, between 2024-2032, and funded by a property tax increase of around $10 each month for the average property owner. The KCC voted unanimously (9-0) to approve the levy for a public vote. The money would help create a network of five crisis care centers, provide funds for the recruitment and retention of community behavioral health workers and increase the number of residential treatment beds. "This is part of helping people get from crisis, to recovery, to becoming self-sufficient again,” King County Executive Dow Constantine said. Constantine said the Crisis Care Centers Levy is a solution to problems seen every day in King County. Historically, he said , federal and state funds were allocated for treatment facilities, but that funding has dropped off in recent years. "The lack of investment shows up in our streets, it shows up in our jails, it shows up in our community. We have to do something about it." Constantine said it is now up to local leaders to act. Whitney Bashaw, who lives and works next door to the now closed El Rey Treatment Facility, said she’s seen first-hand what happens when treatment centers close. The 60-bed residential treatment facility closed in the Fall of 2020. “When it closed down, we talked to many of them who didn't know what they were going to do, where they were going to go,” Bashaw said. “We have seen them on the streets or heard of them going through really, really hard times.” Bashaw is glad to see local government working to address the issues she sees every day. READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.king5.com/article/news/health/proposal-improve-behavioral-health-king-county/281-34a6542b-3a80-4787-b8e6-fd6dd2d345da