By: Courtney Morse, Marketing & Communications Manager, Center for Human Services

Center for Human Services (CHS) received $5 million in state funding for the construction of a new outpatient behavioral health center. This center will expand on the mental health and substance use services CHS already provides. The objective is to increase our capacity for servicing children, teens, young adults ages 0-25 and their families.

The funding is part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s $4.7 billion mental health plan for young people across the state. This project funds new buildings or expansions to buildings that provide mental health and substance use services for children, teens and young adults.

CHS is one of three local nonprofits that received funding in Stanislaus County, along with Sierra Vista Child & Family Services and Aspiranet. These projects are vital to increasing the county’s capacity to meet the growing need for mental health and substance use services to younger populations.

CHS has always had a vision of expanding our ability to provide outpatient behavioral health services. In anticipation of this, we purchased the vacant lot located at 2006 W. Briggsmore Avenue in 2019 as an investment for future development. “When this opportunity came up (for state funding), we were very excited to be able to apply,” said Executive Director Cindy Duenas.

We especially hope to increase access to services for people experiencing homelessness, foster youth, and individuals on probation or re-entering the community from incarceration. These populations often experience more barriers to receiving supportive services, like reliable transportation and availability of treatment. Our goal is to eliminate these barriers.

The new outpatient behavioral health center will be located in the same parking lot as our new Youth Navigation Center (YNC) which opened in the Fall of 2021. The YNC provides shelter and navigation services to teens and young adults 13-25. YNC participants, of which more than 50% self-identify as having mental health and/or substance use disorders, will greatly benefit from the proximity of these expanded services. “One of the most important things is that kids get easy access to services and receive the right level of care.” – Cindy Duenas

The new outpatient center will increase access to mental health assessments in our county, which are an important step in getting appropriate treatment. We plan to expand services for families enrolled in the Health Plan of San Joaquin and HealthNet managed-care Medi-Cal plans and may also serve those with private health insurance.

The 7,000 square-foot outpatient center is expected to be completed in June of 2024. Construction will begin in the coming months.

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