# Mental Health Care in Monroe Township, NJ: A Local Guide > Monroe Township mental health help: senior center social workers, a JFS office that takes Medicare, and Princeton House's older adult program. Source page: https://psychmentalhealth.com/articles/mental-health-monroe-township-nj/ Published: 2026-10-12 · Last fact-checked: 2026-10-12 If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. For a mental health crisis in the U.S., call or text 988. > **Call 911 if anyone is in immediate danger.** For thoughts of suicide or a mental health crisis, call or text **988** at any hour. For adults, Middlesex County's 24-hour psychiatric emergency screening line, run by Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, is **732-235-5700**. For a child or teen, call PerformCare at **1-877-652-7624**. Middlesex's second screening service, at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, sees adults and children: **732-324-5289**. More numbers are on our [crisis page](/crisis/). Monroe Township is an older town than most. The Census Bureau's QuickFacts puts residents 65 and over at 39.6 percent of Monroe's population, from its 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey estimate. Its July 2025 population estimate for New Jersey as a whole is 18.5 percent. The township's own senior services directory lists 16 active adult communities, from Clearbrook and Rossmoor to Concordia and Stonebridge. That shapes what mental health help looks like here. The person who needs care is often in their seventies or eighties. The person searching for it is often a spouse, or a grown child who lives elsewhere. This guide is written for both, with the regular routes for younger residents and children further down. **Quick answer:** Call 911 if anyone is in immediate danger. For thoughts of suicide or a mental health crisis, call or text 988 at any hour. If an adult may need a hospital evaluation but is not in immediate danger, Middlesex County's 24-hour screening line, run by Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, is 732-235-5700. For a child or teen who is not in immediate danger, call PerformCare at 1-877-652-7624. For an older resident, the Monroe Township Office of Senior Services, 12 Halsey Reed Road, 609-448-7140, has social workers who talk with seniors and their families. Jewish Family Services of Middlesex County has an office at 1600 Perrineville Road and says it accepts Medicare and Medicaid: 732-777-1940. ## When is it a crisis, and where do you go? If an older parent talks about not wanting to be here anymore, take it at face value. The National Institute on Aging notes that suicide attempts may increase in people recently diagnosed with dementia. If there is a weapon, an overdose or an attempt in progress, call 911. Otherwise, call or text 988 at any hour. For an adult who is getting worse but is not in immediate danger, Middlesex County's designated screening service is Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, 671 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, on its 24-hour line, **732-235-5700**. Rutgers describes the service as available to adults. Rutgers also runs Early Intervention Support Services at 667 Hoes Lane West, **732-235-4422**, for adults in a mental health crisis. It offers walk-in access and treatment for up to 30 days. The Raritan Bay Medical Center Affiliated Emergency Service in Perth Amboy, **732-324-5289**, is the county's second screening service and sees adults and children. Two hospitals near Monroe list behavioral health services on their own websites: - **Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center**, 1 Plainsboro Road, Plainsboro, 609-853-6500. Penn Medicine lists emergency care, geriatric medicine and mental and behavioral health among its services. - **CentraState Medical Center**, 901 West Main Street, Freehold Township, in Monmouth County. Its emergency department is open 24 hours a day, and Atlantic Health lists behavioral health programs for depression, mood disorders and substance use. It also lists a 24-hour crisis line for CentraState at **732-780-6023**, answered by crisis clinicians. Princeton House Behavioral Health, a separate facility in the same Penn Medicine Princeton Health system, offers hospital-based inpatient care for adults at 905 Herrontown Road in Princeton, with 24/7 admissions and no-cost phone assessments, on **888-437-1610**. ## Is it depression or is it dementia? Families of older adults often ask this first. It can be both. The National Institute on Aging says dementia can cause some of the same symptoms as depression, and that depression can be an early warning sign of possible dementia. It also says depression is common among older adults but is not a normal part of aging. Depression in an older person often does not look like sadness. The NIA lists emotional numbness, losing interest in activities, moving or talking more slowly, sleep changes, more drinking, and trouble concentrating, remembering or making decisions. That last group is where families get confused, because it looks like memory loss. If several of these last more than two weeks, the NIA says to talk with a doctor. The practical step is to ask the primary care doctor for two things, by name. The first is a depression screening. Medicare covers one a year in a primary care setting, and you pay nothing if the provider accepts assignment. The second is a cognitive assessment. Medicare Part B covers a separate visit to review memory and thinking, set or confirm a diagnosis and build a care plan, and Medicare says you can bring a spouse, friend or caregiver to the visit. Our guide to [depression signs and treatment in NJ](/articles/depression-signs-treatment-nj/) covers the symptoms in more detail. ## What does Medicare pay for? Medicare Part B covers outpatient mental health care, including talk therapy, psychiatric evaluation and medication management. After the Part B deductible, you pay 20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount for visits. Medicare.gov lists psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, nurse practitioners, marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors. If a counselor or family therapist once told your parent they could not bill Medicare, ask again. Medicare also covers intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs. For a hospital stay, one rule matters: Part A pays for up to 190 days of inpatient care in a psychiatric hospital over a person's lifetime. That limit applies only to psychiatric hospitals, so ask which kind of facility you are being admitted to. For help with a Medicare plan, the State Health Insurance Assistance Program offers free counseling at **1-800-792-8820**. The township directory says SHIP counselors see people by appointment at the senior center, and JFS lists SHIP among its senior services too. Our guide to [whether insurance will cover mental health treatment](/articles/will-insurance-cover-mental-health-treatment/) covers the questions to ask any plan. ## The senior center's social workers The **Monroe Township Office of Senior Services** is at **12 Halsey Reed Road**. The main line is **609-448-7140**, and the township's directory lists office hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. It serves residents 55 and older. Its social workers are a good first call for an aging family that does not know where to start. The township says its social work staff will speak with older adults or their families, by phone, in person, or with limited home visits in some programs. Its social services description lists needs assessment, referrals, supportive counseling, bereavement counseling, and guidance and support for family caregivers. The same document lists support groups that have included bereavement and caregivers of people with Alzheimer's. That description dates from 2019, so ask which groups meet now. For a parent who no longer drives, the ride is often what decides whether treatment happens at all. The senior center runs specialized transportation, including rides to medical appointments, for residents 55 and older or permanently disabled who are registered with the center. Call **609-443-0511** for the rules and to reserve. One caution: the township directory, last updated in June 2023, is out of date on mental health. Its hotline section still lists the retired NJ Hopeline and the old National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number; use 988 instead. It also describes Rutgers' crisis screening as serving all ages, while Rutgers now says that service is for adults, and its address and phone for JFS differ from the ones JFS publishes. Use the numbers in this guide. ## Counseling and day programs **Jewish Family Services of Middlesex County** has an office at **1600 Perrineville Road, Suite 26, Monroe Township**, and another in North Brunswick. Call **732-777-1940**. It offers therapy for individuals, couples and families with New Jersey licensed therapists, for problems including depression, anxiety, stress and grief, and runs support groups. JFS says it accepts Medicaid, Medicare and many insurances. It does not say which services run at the Monroe office, so ask when you call. **Princeton House Behavioral Health**, part of Penn Medicine, runs an Older Adult Program for age-related issues it names as memory loss, grief, isolation, mood changes and depression, with group therapy for peer support. Its North Brunswick site, Building 100, 1460 Livingston Avenue, lists the Older Adult Program at four days per week. Its intensive outpatient hours there are 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on weekdays, and patients attend four days a week. Its partial hospital hours are 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., weekdays. Call **888-437-1610**. The difference between a day program and weekly therapy matters. Weekly therapy is usually one session a week. A day program takes several hours a day, several days a week, so ask Princeton House for the exact schedule before you plan rides. Our guide to [levels of mental health care](/articles/levels-of-mental-health-care-explained/) explains when each fits. ## Younger adults, teens and children The senior center serves residents 55 and older. For younger adults, the county routes above still apply. Rutgers' Access Center, 1-800-969-5300, is the intake line for its adult outpatient clinics. JFS's Monroe office, above, is another place to ask. If you are on NJ FamilyCare, our [NJ FamilyCare mental health guide](/articles/nj-familycare-medicaid-mental-health-coverage/) explains what the program covers. If cost is the problem, read [therapy without insurance in NJ](/articles/therapy-without-insurance-low-cost-options-nj/), or consider [online therapy](/articles/online-therapy-telehealth-nj/). For a child or teen in crisis who is not in immediate danger, call PerformCare at 1-877-652-7624, any hour. For anything life-threatening, PerformCare says to dial 911. PerformCare may send a mobile response team to your home within one hour of notification. Princeton House's North Brunswick site also lists tween and adolescent programs. Under New Jersey law (N.J.S.A. 9:17A-4), a teen 16 or older who believes they need mental health care can consent on their own to temporary outpatient treatment, not including medication. For anything that started at school, the school counselor is a reasonable first call, and our guide to [child and teen mental health help in NJ](/articles/teen-child-mental-health-help-nj/) covers the warning signs. For help choosing any kind of care, NJMentalHealthCares, **1-866-202-4357**, is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. It is not a crisis line. Neighbors in nearby towns can also read our [East Brunswick](/articles/mental-health-east-brunswick-nj/) and [Old Bridge](/articles/mental-health-old-bridge-nj/) guides, or the [Middlesex County resource page](/middlesex-county/). ## If you are the caregiver The NIA lists caregiver stress among the risk factors for depression. A spouse who has spent two years managing appointments, medications and nights of broken sleep is at real risk. Three lines exist for you, not for the person you look after: - **Care2Caregivers**, **800-424-2494**, is a free and confidential phone line for New Jersey caregivers of people with dementia. It is run by Rutgers' COPSA Institute, and the people who answer are trained peer counselors who have been family caregivers themselves. - The **Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline**, **800-272-3900**, is free and open around the clock, 365 days a year. You reach a live person who can offer information, local resources, crisis assistance and emotional support, with interpreters in more than 200 languages. - New Jersey's **Statewide Respite Care Program** gives unpaid caregivers a short or periodic break, such as adult day care, home care or a short facility stay. The caregiver must be unpaid and 18 or older, and the person you care for must live at home and have a functional impairment certified by their medical provider. Income and asset limits apply, and the cost runs from 0 to 25 percent of the services on a sliding scale. To reach the Middlesex program, call the Aging and Disability Resource Connection at **1-877-222-3737**. If you are not sleeping, drinking more, or feeling hopeless yourself, call your own doctor, and use 988 at any hour. When someone you love [will not accept help](/articles/when-someone-you-love-wont-get-help/), that guide covers what you can still do. Your next step: this week, call Care2Caregivers at 800-424-2494 and ask for one thing, a caregiver support group that meets at a time you can actually attend. ## Sources - [Designated Screening Services in New Jersey (updated October 8, 2026)](https://nj.gov/humanservices/dmhas/documents/pdf/MH_Screening_Centers.pdf) — NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services - [Hotlines and Helplines](https://nj.gov/humanservices/dmhas/help/hotlines/) — NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services - [Psychiatric Emergency Screening Services (PESS)](https://ubhc.rutgers.edu/pess/) — Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care - [Early Intervention Support Services (EISS)](https://ubhc.rutgers.edu/eiss/) — Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care - [Emergency services](https://www.performcarenj.org/families/emergency-services.aspx) — PerformCare New Jersey - [QuickFacts: Monroe township, Middlesex County, New Jersey; New Jersey](https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/monroetownshipmiddlesexcountynewjersey,NJ/AGE775224) — U.S. Census Bureau - [Monroe Township Senior Services Directory (updated June 29, 2023)](https://monroetwp.com/images/Monroe_Senior_Services_Directory_-_Updated_6-29-2023_1-compressed.pdf) — Township of Monroe - [Social Services, Office of Senior Services](https://monroetwp.com/images/pdfs/Social_Services.pdf) — Township of Monroe - [Counseling Services](https://jfsmiddlesex.org/counseling/) — Jewish Family Services of Middlesex County - [Senior Services](https://jfsmiddlesex.org/senior-services/) — Jewish Family Services of Middlesex County - [Princeton House Behavioral Health](https://www.pennmedicine.org/services/mental-behavioral-health/princeton-house-behavioral-health) — Penn Medicine - [Outpatient care for mental health and substance use](https://www.pennmedicine.org/services/mental-behavioral-health/princeton-house-behavioral-health/outpatient-treatment) — Penn Medicine - [Inpatient care for mental health and substance use](https://www.pennmedicine.org/services/mental-behavioral-health/princeton-house-behavioral-health/inpatient-treatment) — Penn Medicine - [Princeton House Behavioral Health - Outpatient North Brunswick](https://www.pennmedicine.org/practices/princeton-house-behavioral-health-north-brunswick) — Penn Medicine - [Princeton Medical Center](https://www.pennmedicine.org/locations/princeton-medical-center) — Penn Medicine - [Mental health crisis services](https://www.atlantichealth.org/services/crisis-resources) — Atlantic Health - [CentraState Medical Center Emergency Department](https://www.atlantichealth.org/locations/centrastate-medical-center/emergency-department) — Atlantic Health - [Depression and Older Adults](https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/mental-and-emotional-health/depression-and-older-adults) — National Institute on Aging - [Mental health care (outpatient)](https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/mental-health-care-outpatient) — Medicare.gov (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - [Mental health care (inpatient)](https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/mental-health-care-inpatient) — Medicare.gov (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - [Cognitive assessment & care plan services](https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/cognitive-assessment-care-plan-services) — Medicare.gov (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - [State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)](https://www.nj.gov/humanservices/doas/services/q-z/ship/) — NJ Division of Aging Services - [Statewide Respite Care Program](https://www.nj.gov/humanservices/doas/services/q-z/srcp/) — NJ Division of Aging Services - [Care2Caregivers](https://www.care2caregivers.com/) — The COPSA Institute for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, Rutgers - [24/7 Helpline](https://www.alz.org/help-support/resources/helpline) — Alzheimer's Association - [EISS Middlesex County brochure](https://ubhc.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/EISS-Middlesex-brochure.pdf) — Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care - [N.J.S.A. 9:17A-4, current text, shown in Senate Bill 2915 (2026). The bill would lower the age to 14; it was referred to committee on January 13, 2026 and has not passed. The age is still 16.](https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2026/S3000/2915_I1.HTM) — New Jersey Legislature - [Princeton House Behavioral Health - Inpatient Princeton](https://www.pennmedicine.org/practices/princeton-house-behavioral-health-inpatient) — Penn Medicine --- General educational information, not medical advice. Fact-checked against the cited sources, not clinically reviewed. Ownership: PsychMentalHealth is published by an operator with a working relationship with Periscope Behavioral Health, which runs outpatient behavioral health programs in Middlesex and Camden counties, including Emerald Wellness in Kendall Park and South Jersey Recovery Program in Berlin. Those programs are not included in this site's county guides or articles, but a message sent through our contact form may be passed to one of them if you ask us to. Contact-form messages are passed to a Periscope program only when the sender ticks the opt-in box on the form.