LAKEPORT — The Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) Tuesday approved a lease agreement between the Lake County Mental Health Department and Tri-Star Properties, L.P., for the establishment of a tribal wellness center.
Mental Health partnered with the Circle of Native Minds, a group of tribal elders intending to serve all American Indians in Lake County, to establish a place for tribal communities to get assistance with behavioral and mental health issues.
The proposed center would be located at 849 Bevins St. in Lakeport, a short distance from the tribal health center located on Bevins Court.
Mental Health Director Kristy Kelly said the Mental Health Services Act of 2004, known as Proposition 63, allowed the department to address different issues and attain funding.
Kelly said she has been working closely with Thomas Leon Brown, a specialist in tribal outreach and engagement and a leader in the Circle of Native Minds.
Brown said the establishment of a wellness center would help American Indians discuss the traumas they have suffered and to begin the healing process. Brown also said the center would help educate the tribal communities and county residents about American Indian history. He said the center will also serve as a culture center. Arts and crafts will be on display daily and there will be time set aside for basket weaving the sharing of cultural stories and songs.
The center will serve as a place for drug and alcohol treatment services, as well. District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing said the project was touching, special and challenging.
Representatives of the Circle of Native Minds attended the meeting and spoke, praising Mental Health for working on the issue and urging the BOS to approve the lease agreement.
One woman said many American Indian youth were lost because of drugs and alcohol and commended the center for the ability to address the issues by providing tribal youth with treatment options. The BOS approved the lease between the county and Tri-Star Properties by a 4-0 vote, with District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington not present. The BOS also approved the expense of the project as a capital asset by a 4-0 vote.
