Humboldt County receiving significant expansions to crisis stabilization services
State Sen. Mike McGuire visited the Eureka Veterans Memorial Hall on Monday to announce a significant expansion of mental health and addiction services in Humboldt County, with the last three years seeing $70 million invested in several projects, adding 101 new beds to crisis stabilization programs in Arcata and Eureka.
McGuire, who says his own family has had experiences with addiction, was deeply moved by the efforts of Humboldt’s community and healthcare programs to make these projects a reality.
“These projects are happening thanks to an amazing partnership. And that’s the way we do it here on the North Coast,” McGuire said. “Humboldt County has been a damn dog with a bone in their pursuit of developing these new expanded healthcare opportunities.”
The Mad River Crisis Triage Center is set to open in 2027, providing mental health care and crisis stabilization services, a sobering facility and crisis residential care. The center will be built on the hospital’s campus in Arcata with a collective $18 million in contributions from the state’s Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP), Mad River Hospital, the county, Providence and funds secured by McGuire.
Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services Director Connie Beck described the new facility as addressing crisis care with dignity. Patients at the triage center will have access to medically managed detox, mental health crisis and dual diagnosis residential services, as well as support during the discharge process. Stays can extend anywhere from 24 hours to 90 days, depending on patient needs, and the facility will also have family member and peer support specialists, she said.
“We know that when a crisis arrives, it is just as important for loved ones to feel supported and welcomed to a calm space built for healing and recovery,” Beck said.
Second District County Supervisor Michelle Bushnell emphasized the importance of having facilities closer to home for local residents to recover while maintaining connections with their families and support networks.
“I get those phone calls with my constituents that are from moms and dads that say, ‘Please help me with my child. Please help me with my mom. Please help me, and where do we send them?’” Bushnell said. “They don’t need to go to jail …. When a crisis is happening to your family, to your person, and you can’t get [help], it’s devastating.”
In Eureka, the Sempervirens Psychiatric Health Facility is going to be rebuilt with four additional crisis stabilization beds, funded by $43.5 million from the BHCIP and the county. It is currently the only inpatient psychiatric hospital within a 300-mile radius, according to the North Coast Resource Hub. The updated facility will be open in 2030.
Beck recalled the efforts of county officials trying to obtain funding to update Sempervirens’ facilities for several years and expressed gratitude for the organizations that have offered continued support.
“I know that you hear from constituents regarding the lack of or gaps in services, and I think it’s safe to say that we are moving forward with filling some of those gaps,” Beck said.
The Sorrel Leaf Healing Center will be Humboldt County’s first crisis residential program for youths, featuring 12 beds on a 13-acre farm property for children aged 7 to 17. The main building of the facility is almost complete, and the center is scheduled to open in the fall of 2026 off Indianola Road in Eureka. Sorrel Leaf’s Executive Director Shireen Varga said that Humboldt County has significantly higher suicide rates and experiences of childhood trauma among youth than other areas of the state, which is why Sorrel Leaf is such an important contribution to the area.
“For too long here, when a young person has been in crisis, they have to be shipped off to four or five hours away to Santa Rosa or San Francisco to get care,” Varga said. “They were placed on a hold in a very sterile, lockdown environment, away from their community support, away from their family. And if they were able to go outside after being pumped with meds, they would be in a cement little yard.”
The center focuses on community and nature-focused healing, with a family-style dining area and a courtyard with native plants and healing areas created with the input of local tribes and cultural councils. Individual, family, group, art and music therapy will be among the available services. There will also be a designated art studio and greenhouse on the campus.
“We’re hoping that Sorrel Leaf will not only be able to open the doors, but we’ll also be able to be a model that will be replicated across the state of California and hopefully further out in the states,” Varga said.
McGuire, along with many others present, expressed excitement at being able to see the positive impact these facilities will have on a county that has historically been deprived of healthcare access.
“We rally when neighbors are in need, we stand strong, we’ll be able to fix the biggest challenges that are in our neighborhoods,” McGuire said. “Humboldt County and the North Coast is a special place, and we’re here because of the teamwork over the past many years. We are forever grateful.”
Griffin Mancuso (he/him) is a freelance journalist based in Eureka. He is passionate about uplifting the stories of local communities and wildlife education and preservation. More of his work can be found at griffinmancuso.wordpress.com.
This article appears in No Kings II.