May 4th, 2023 Hello Friends,
Happy Spring! We’re so excited to share some positive developments in our creation of our community’s first healing space for young people experiencing a mental health crisis, and to invite members of our community to join our team.
Mobile Response Team
First off, our Mobile Crisis Response Team is on track for a July opening. This dynamic service will offer ‘in the field’ mental health care and case management to any young people and their families living in Humboldt County. This vitally needed service line will provide de-escalation of youth mental health crises, connection to county and non-county resources for both the young person and their family, and will also offer intensive short term therapy over days or weeks to bridge the delicate period between a crisis and the establishment of long term care.
We are now hiring our Mobile Team members! We are actively recruiting a clinician and a mental health rehabilitation specialist who will work together responding to crises throughout the county. If you believe in our mission, have the skills needed to support young people and their families when they are in a vulnerable situation with care and intention, and are interested in being part of an exciting new program, we encourage you to apply
Along those lines, we have hired Sarahdee Duncan as our Mobile Team’s Head of Service to provide clinical supervision for the team. Sarahdee is a licensed marriage family therapist who specializes in adolescent and transitional age youth development and engagement. She has spent the last 25 years serving the Humboldt community through various nonprofits and public service organizations, most recently spending 7 years as a clinician at the Transitional Age Youth Division. She lives in Eureka with her husband and 3 fur babies. When not providing mental health services, she enjoys gardening, yoga, camping and travel.
Facility Planning and Building
We are very pleased to report that our project received unanimous California Coastal Commission Approval. During our hearing before the Commission we received overwhelmingly positive feedback and encouragement from the commissioners. We feel so grateful for their support.
We continue to move forward with the planning and construction of our Crisis Residential facility and aftercare clinic. We apply for building permits June 15th, at which time we will also put out a request for proposals to find our contractor.
Our Interactive Garden Tours were an overwhelming success. Community members provided beautiful suggestions including a moss room, frisbee golf, grass houses, mushroom cultivation, reading nooks, hammocks, modular furniture to increase choice, undeveloped space for play and discovery, and a space for memorial, among many others. Tayloranne will work to incorporate the community feedback she received into the land designs. If you were unable to attend but have ideas, or if you have additional ideas since being on the land, please do not hesitate to share those by emailing growtogether.design@gmail.com.
If you have any questions or suggestions about the center, please reach out to us at info@sorrelleaf.org. Thank you for the outpouring of support and we will continue to be in touch!
Yours,
Evan
Evan Buxbaum MD MPH
Executive Director and Chairman
Sorrel Leaf Healing Center
124 Indianola Road
Eureka CA 95503