Bremerton Beat Blast: The Homelessness Crisis
Courtesy of Kitsap Sun - Reporter Austen Macalus examines homelessness here, including those sleeping out in the November cold and plans for a new supportive housing complex. Link to Video>
Impending Medicaid Changes Worry Some Local Behavioral Health Providers
Courtesy of Kitsap Sun - There are big changes coming to mental health and substance use services around the West Sound next year. Washington’s ongoing Medicaid transition to “whole-person care” — the last stage of which will be completed next year — will drastically alter the way the state pays for the region’s behavioral services. The Washington State Health Care Authority says the new system aims to better coordinate services and provide easier [...]
Long-Running Crisis Intervention Hotline Closing At The End Of The Year
Courtesy of Kitsap Sun - A longstanding over-the-phone crisis intervention hotline serving Kitsap, Callam and Jefferson counties will be shutting down at the end of the year. Crisis Clinic of the Peninsulas, a 24-7 hotline run by Kitsap Mental Health Services, is closing at midnight on Dec. 31. The service will shift to a crisis call center based in Everett that's run by Volunteers of America. Founded in 1965, the [...]
‘The Stars Have Aligned’: Permanent Supportive Housing Project Goes Ahead With Funding From Gates Foundation
Courtesy of Kitsap Sun - It’s going to take $20.8 million to develop Pendleton Place, Kitsap’s first permanent supportive housing project aimed at helping the county’s most vulnerable residents. But the ambitious project is moving ahead, now with a little help from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The prestigious philanthropic organization awarded the project half-a-million dollars, according to United Way of Kitsap County, which applied for the grant [...]
One Year In, Kitsap Crisis Triage Center Shows Signs Of Success
Courtesy of Kitsap Sun - Kitsap's Crisis Triage Center opened last August with ambitious goals: reduce emergency room cases, jail visits and in-patient hospitalizations stemming from behavioral health crises. A year into operations the crisis triage center is already proving its worth, according to officials with Kitsap Mental Health Services, which runs the county-owned facility. The center has served 448 people since last August, about one-third of whom are [...]
Her Goal? 52 Marathons. Her Inspiration? Her Brother.
Courtesy of Kitsap Sun - By July, New Year's resolutions are usually long forgotten. But for Illahee native Tabatha Collins, it’s all that’s running through her mind. “Sometimes I think: is this still important, or am I just out running?” Collins asked. Collins' brother, Todd Riedle, would have turned 52 on Jan. 1, and in his honor, she is signed up to participate in 52 ultramarathons. “I might do [...]
Partnership Seeks To Create Homeless Housing Complex In Bremerton
Courtesy of Kitsap Daily News - Kitsap Mental Health Services, the Bremerton Housing Authority and the City of Bremerton have teamed up to construct an apartment complex in Bremerton which aims to tackle Kitsap’s rising homeless population. Pendleton Place, as the project is called, takes its namesake from national housing advocate Lloyd Pendleton, who inspired local housing providers and community members to create housing aimed at providing residences for [...]
Officials Move Ahead With Project That Will Bring Supportive Housing To Homeless
Courtesy of Kitsap Sun - A first-of-its-kind project that combines affordable housing, mental-health care and ongoing support services for Kitsap’s most vulnerable residents will be built off Kitsap Way just west of Highway 3, city leaders unveiled this week. The proposed 74-unit apartment building, dubbed Pendleton Place, is a collaboration between the city of Bremerton, Kitsap Mental Health and the Bremerton Housing Authority. Its goal: to create permanent housing [...]
Kitsap Mental Health Teams Offer Intensive Services For Families
Courtesy of Kitsap Sun - A former Doctors Clinic urgent care center off Highway 303 has been transformed into a hub where families of young people struggling with mental health challenges can find help. Kitsap Mental Health Services, which bought the East Bremerton property a year ago for $1.7 million, relocated its Wraparound with Intensive Services (or WISe) teams to the Bentley Drive building in February. Part of a voluntary, statewide [...]
Kitsap’s Crisis Triage Center Serves 88 In First Two Months
Courtesy of Kitsap Sun - Kitsap's Crisis Triage Center has admitted 88 people experiencing behavioral health crises since opening in mid-August, according to Kitsap Mental Health Services, which operates the county-owned facility. The Fuson Road center serves adults who don't meet the criteria for involuntary commitment but still need a safe place to de-escalate and get help. Kitsap Mental Health staff say the center has helped people grappling with [...]