People having a mental health crisis will soon have another place to seek help besides a crowded emergency room. Next week, Howard Center will open a walk-in urgent care center in Burlington for patients age 18 and older who are experiencing mental health emergencies. The first of its kind in Chittenden County, the center is located in a University of Vermont Medical Center building on South Prospect Street. At a ribbon-cutting on Monday, officials said the center will relieve pressure on the hospital's emergency room, a common but inadequate landing spot for people in crisis. The effort is a collaboration between Howard Center, UVM Medical Center and the nonprofits Pathways Vermont and Community Health Centers of Burlington. The center will be a "huge step forward" in reducing stigma around mental health care, Howard Center CEO Sandy McGuire said. "While it won't solve every challenge facing our community today, I'm confident that we're making progress as we offer another option and choice for people to access compassionate, quality care," she said. The center will offer mental health assessments, wound care and other services to patients in mental distress, including those with suicidal ideation, traumatic brain injury and substance use disorder. Peer support specialists — staff who have themselves experienced mental health or substance use challenges — will also be on hand to talk with patients. With light-filled spaces and views of Lake Champlain, the center is meant to evoke a sense of calm. Unlike a typical doctor's office, the center's reception area has modern touches such as an area rug, recessed television and large ottomans. Patients, whom the center will refer to as "guests," will be greeted by a "navigator" who has been trained in deescalation tactics and customer service. They'll then be shown to one of four consult rooms, which are painted a serene shade of blue. Patients who first go to the emergency room can be referred to the center, where most services will be offered at no charge. The center has funding for three years, after which staff will decide whether to start billing private insurance, according to Charlotte McCorkel, Howard Center's senior director of client services. "We're hoping that people will access services sooner than they would otherwise," she said. The center will be open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., though Howard Center hopes to expand those hours in the future, McCorkel said. Monday's event packed the space with supporters…