Providence in Humboldt County recently announced that a $500,000 grant from its local Community Health Investment Fund will go towards helping launch the Sorrell Leaf Healing Center in Eureka.
The center will feature a 3-bed crisis stabilization unit and 9-bed, 5000 square foot crisis residential treatment center for youth in Humboldt and the surrounding Northern California counties that are experiencing significant mental health challenges. Providence’s grant will directly fund aspects of the project not covered by state grants, such as development of an outpatient after-care program, outdoor therapeutic spaces and other therapeutic infrastructure.
“We’re honored to be able to support the mental health of our youth on the North Coast” said Roberta Luskin-Hawk, MD, chief executive for Providence in Humboldt County. “Caring for the most vulnerable in our community is at the core of our mission and it’s why the Sisters of St. Joseph founded our health care ministry in Eureka over a century ago.”
In addition to funds provided by Providence, Sorrell Leaf Healing Center has received grant funding from the State of California designed to increase access to crisis beds for children and adolescents throughout the state. The launch of the treatment center comes at a time when the effects of two years of COVID-19 have exacerbated Humboldt’s rising youth suicide rates and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), which are nearly double the state’s average, making the project’s success a critical factor in the overall health of the community.
“Humboldt youth are suffering from significant mental health challenges, and for years we have had no facilities within hundreds of miles to help them when they reach the point of a crisis or suicide attempt,” said Evan Buxbaum, MD, executive director for Sorrell Leaf Healing Center. “Our comprehensive system of care will serve the needs of children and adolescents ages 7 to 18, offering transformative, compassionate, evidence-based and trauma-informed care for young people experiencing a mental health crisis.”
In addition to local care administration, Sorrell Leaf Healing Center stakeholders are currently in discussion with UCSF to provide child and adolescent psychiatry services to patients.
Sorrel Leaf Healing Center is an independent non-profit organizational provider partnered with Humboldt County Behavioral Health to bring these services to Humboldt County. The treatment center, located off Indianola Road in Eureka, plans to open in 2023. For more information on the Sorrell Leaf Healing Center, please visit their website at www. sorrelleaf.org.
About the Author
More Content by Providence News Team
