EVERETT — A new Evergreen Manor Family Center will provide housing and services to more than 200 “opioid-dependent” pregnant women, parents and children each year in the Riverside neighborhood of Everett.
The 27,000-square-foot facility, still under construction, is “everything they wanted” from the current facility, said Linda Grant, the center’s executive director.
It’s an expansion made possible by $2.9 million awarded to Evergreen Recovery Centers, one of five grants announced this week by Snohomish County for projects to build behavioral health capacity. , with a total investment of $8 million in Edmonds, Everett, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace.
“We have worked for 20 years in a facility that was never designed for families. And we went from pregnant women who had a child while they were in treatment here, to mothers who come in with two or three children,” Grant said. “And so our new facility is built with space: with indoor play areas for kids, a rocking and reading room, a children’s library, plenty of quiet spaces for people to get away from it all, and a big, huge fun family game room.”
The new Evergreen Recovery Centers building to house and treat opioid dependent mothers with their children Thursday, May 25, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
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Patients at Evergreen Manor typically stay for six months. The new center will have a child care center with a capacity of 50, up from 17 at the current facility at 2601 Summit Ave. It will also have a pediatric transitional care center with special medical care for newborns with opiate withdrawal.
The current establishment will continue to accommodate women without children, pregnant women or those with very young babies. Larger family groups will live across the street at the mansion. Grant said it should open in September.
“As we spoke to communities about ways to recover and move forward with COVID-19, there was consistent agreement on the need to expand affordable, high-quality behavioral health capacity serving all parties. county,” Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers said. A press release.
The grants are part of the county’s US federal bailout allocation, and they will support buildings and programs to serve 440 more children and adults each year.
A young girl plays outside the Evergreen Recovery Center with her mother Thursday, May 25, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
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Volunteers of America Western Washington received $1.6 million for its Lynnwood Neighborhood Center project. This grant will be dedicated to office space for behavioral health services for up to 40 individual appointments per day, group sessions and a range of services for children, youth and adults.
Kristi Myers, mission leader, said behavioral health services and nearly every other program at the neighborhood center will focus on low-income families. Volunteers of America will open this fall, with a goal to open by the end of 2024.
All five members of Snohomish County Council voiced their support for the new grants in the news release.
“These federal dollars are used in essential ways, especially for families struggling with mental health and addiction issues,” Council Vice Chair Nate Nehring said. “We know there is not enough behavioral health capacity in Snohomish County, and I am especially pleased to see that these programs will provide much needed services to families and youth.
Inside one of the rooms in the current housing at the Evergreen Recovery Center, Thursday, May 25, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
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The complete list of recipients:
Evergreen Recovery Centers: $2.9 million
Edmonds School District: $1.8 million
Western Washington Volunteers of America: $1.6 million
Housing Hope: $1.5 million
Pioneer Social Services: $250,000
Joy Borkholder is the Daily Herald’s health and wellness reporter. His work is supported by the Health Reporting Initiative, which is sponsored in part by Premera Blue Cross. The Daily Herald maintains editorial control over content produced under this initiative.
Joy Borkholder: 425-339-3430; [email protected]; Twitter: @jlbinvestigates.
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The new Evergreen Recovery Centers building to house and treat opioid dependent mothers with their children Thursday, May 25, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
A young girl plays outside the Evergreen Recovery Center with her mother Thursday, May 25, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Inside one of the rooms in the current housing at the Evergreen Recovery Center, Thursday, May 25, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
