The fate of a planned youth behavioral health center in Anderson is unknown after a major community partner announced their departure from the project.
Les Baugh, current pastor at Anderson Community church and former Shasta County supervisor, announced the church’s departure from the Pathways to Leadership Campus project in a statement on Facebook. Anderson Community was one of two local organizations collaborating to bring the campus project to life, along with Family Dynamics Resource Center.
The campus was planned to be built on Anderson Community owned land, but without the church’s involvement in the project, its status is unknown.
The project was in the process of receiving $1.9 million from the county in order to acquire a nearly $25 million state grant. The county funding was contingent on the condition that the project receive letters of support from either Anderson Police Department or the Shasta County Sheriff’s office. The Record Searchlight was unable to reach Anderson Community or Family Dynamics before deadline on April 8 to ascertain the status of the county’s funding.
In his Facebook post, Baugh said Anderson Community has “made the difficult decision to withdraw from participation in the Pathways to Leadership Campus project.”
“We remain deeply committed to the well-being of youth and families in our community and continue to believe in the importance of expanding access to mental health and support services. That mission has not changed. However, as we have walked through this process, it has become clear that moving forward with this project is not the right path for Anderson Community at this time,” said Baugh.
Read More: Anderson to get new youth behavioral health campus with $24.7M grant
Anderson City Manager Joey Forseth Deshais said the first time the project had been officially presented to the city was April 1, according to a report from KRCR-TV.
Layout of Pathways to Leadership Campus Expansion as seen at Mar. 24 Board of Supervisors meeting
At a March 24 board of supervisors meeting, Dr. Sandra Wilson, executive clinical director and supervisor of Family Dynamics, identified a strong need for a facility of this kind in the area, saying there are no in-patient adolescent substance use treatment facilities north of Sacramento.
Anderson Councilmember Darin Hale, who has publicly opposed the campus project in past Facebook posts, posted the following statement regarding Baugh’s announcement:
“I would like to thank all of our Anderson Community for stepping up and speaking out. This is why I love Anderson so deeply. Our community is driven to make and to keep our city one of the best places to live in the Northstate…”
The campus as planned would be 25,000 square feet, and include four separate facilities designed to meet the needs of youth at different points on their recovery journey. These four facilities would include a “20-bed children’s crisis residential program,” a “30-bed adolescent substance use treatment center,” a 10-bed apartment-style “stabilization and transitional care” facility for aging youth, and a publicly available mental health counseling center.
Baugh, Deshais, Wilson, and Family Dynamics billing administrator Jennifer Crowell did not immediately return calls before deadline April 8.
Drew Askeland covers Redding and Shasta County government issues, as well as anything else that needs reporting for the Record Searchlight and USA Today Network. Reach him at drew.askeland@redding.com or (530) 225-8247. Please subscribe today to support our newsroom’s commitment to public service journalism.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Anderson youth health center project in doubt