###

Rex Bohn’s cell phone is getting flooded with incoming calls.

“An ungodly amount,” is how Humboldt County’s First District supervisor described the volume. The calls and texts started rolling in on New Year’s Eve and haven’t let up since, he told the Outpost (via phone) this morning.

The source of this deluge appears to be a flyer being distributed to residents of the Ridgewood Heights neighborhood south of Eureka. Headlined “NEIGHBORHOOD ALERT!” in all caps and printed on hot pink office paper, the handbill sounds the alarm about a residential mental health treatment facility that recently took over a former senior home on Berry Lane, about three blocks from Ridgewood Elementary School. 

The treatment facility is now open, with six clients scheduled to enter soon, according to Jack Breazeal, deputy director of the Behavioral Health Branch of the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Named The Lighthouse, it’s owned and operated by Yuba City-based nonprofit Willow Glen Care Center.

“This is a 16-bed facility, and DHHS Behavioral Health is contracted for all of them,” Breazeal said in a statement provided to the Outpost. He explained that those beds will primarily be reserved for people who are under the guardianship of the county per the terms of California’s Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (1967), which authorizes involuntary psychiatric treatment in very limited circumstances, and who ”have shown a degree of stability and treatment compliance with medications and other mental health services,” Breazeal said.

But the flyers being distributed to neighbors suggests that these new residents will be inherently dangerous, making it unsafe for children to play or walk alone to and from school. (The flyer contains some misinformation about the new facility, overstating the number of patients it will serve while understating its distance from Ridgewood Elementary, for example. Bohn noted that it also misspells his name.)

Bohn said that, like many of the people who’ve been calling him in recent days, he was unaware that the facility had opened, and he spent much of New Year’s Day and this morning tracking down information from the folks at DHHS. He said he’s annoyed at being caught off guard.

“I’m pretty frustrated, because I usually have my finger on things pretty good,” he said, later adding, “I’m mad at myself as much as the whole situation.”

Ridgewood Heights resident Robin Stockton is the woman behind the flyers, and she’s pretty frustrated, too. Reached by phone, she accused local officials of lying and hiding the truth about this new facility. She said she’s handed out 200 flyers and spoken with many neighbors who share her concerns.

“It’s just a recipe for disaster,” she said. “Eventually, somebody is going to do something [harmful].”

Stockton said her concerns stem from her own experiences with people suffering from mental health issues, including her stepson. She also spent years operating a care home in Marin for people with severe mental health issues, she said, and she worries that local patients will stop taking their meds after being released from Sempervirens, the county’s inpatient mental health facility.

In a message sent to the Outpost via Facebook last week she wrote, “this facility does not belong in this community. it not only puts us at risk for violence, burglary, theft and vandalism, but it also lowers the value of our homed [sic].”

“Everybody else is concerned, too,” she said today. “People pay a lot to buy a house out here, and this is going to affect their property value. These people [Lighthouse clients] will be roaming the neighborhood. [Facility managers] can’t make ‘em take their medication; they can’t make ‘em stay home. I know for a fact.”

Stockton said she received most of her information about The Lighthouse third-hand — from a neighbor who spoke to an employee onsite who was not authorized to talk about it. 

Breazeal said the clients who will receive treatment at The Lighthouse “are known to the county and will have been in higher levels of care, including locked facilities, where they showed improvement prior to arriving … . The housing is supervised by three staff during the day and two staff at nighttime. Individuals who violate rules like wandering around without consent or notification to staff would need to be transferred to a higher level of care.”

Public notification about The Lighthouse was not required because mental health treatment facilities are allowed under the current zoning, according to a DHHS spokesperson. And Breazeal argued that the location will serve patients well.

“Facilities like this exist so that people can live near their families in their own communities in placements that are appropriate for them,” he said.

Bohn, meanwhile, responded to all the phone calls and texts he’s been receiving by arranging a community information meeting to be held Monday, Jan. 6 at 6 p.m. in the multipurpose room of Cutten Elementary School (4182 Walnut Drive). He shared a flyer of his own on Facebook. It says county officials will be on hand to discuss concerns and answer questions.

The Outpost also reached out to Willow Glen Care Center and spoke briefly with Program Director David Gilbert. In a follow-up email, Gilbert said his organization hosted an open house at The Lighthouse on Dec. 18, “and though we had about 25 or 30 folks who attended and got to tour the building and hear about the program, we know there are a lot of neighbors who were unable to attend and who might have questions.”

In an effort to answer some of those questions and to clear up some of the misinformation being spread, Gilbert forwarded a copy of a letter addressing neighbors of the newly opened facility. We’ve reproduced it in full below:

New Care Home in Town

Hello Neighbors,

My name is David Gilbert and I’m the administrator of a new 16-bed care home here in Eureka, “The Lighthouse”. Prior to our moving into 6253 Berry Lane, the building was home to another care home (Cutten Care Home) for the last 30+ years. When the owners/operators of that facility decided to retire, our non-profit organization, Willow Glen Care Center, started the process of moving in. Like Cutten Care Home, The Lighthouse is licensed by the Community Care Licensing Division of the California Department of Social Services.

Recently I was speaking to a few neighbors who had received some misinformation about our facility: words were used that we feel misrepresent the good people in Humboldt County who are working to improve their mental health and are seeking treatment. So, I thought I would try to get the correct information out there:

The Lighthouse is licensed as a co-ed adult residential care facility (ARF) and will serve dependent adults and elders who are connected to Humboldt County Behavioral Health. Most clients served at The Lighthouse will have a Humboldt County Case Manager and will also have a guardian assigned by the Humboldt County Public Guardian’s office. Though The Lighthouse is a new facility, Willow Glen Care Center has been working with Humboldt County since 1996. Willow Glen operates a total of 10 licensed facilities in northern California, including a second facility right here in Eureka.

The Lighthouse employs an Administrator (that’s me), a House Manager, a House Supervisor, a Medication Technician, and about 12 Mental Health Aides and Mental Health Workers. Staff are awake and onsite 24-hours per day and 7-days per week. In addition to the 24/7 awake staff, the premises are also monitored inside and out via a newly installed HD camera system.

All clients referred to The Lighthouse will be assessed by a clinical and interdisciplinary team prior to acceptance. If that team feels that the client is not a good fit for The Lighthouse, that referral would be denied and the client may then be referred to a different level of care. Potential clients who might not be a good fit in this neighborhood, for instance, would not be admitted to this program.

Though we are not a drug/alcohol treatment facility, we recognize that some of our clients will have a history of addiction issues and we’ll work with each client on their individual goals. The Lighthouse is a sober-living environment. Potential clients who are actively using drugs or alcohol would not be admitted to The Lighthouse, and clients who relapse while residing with us (or who break other house rules) may be at risk of losing placement at this facility.

Though The Lighthouse is not a locked facility, clients will have to earn passes before going out into the community (that’s one of our house rules). All pass times will be monitored, and any behaviors while “out and about” will be considered when looking to continue/discontinue community passes. Clients will sign out and sign in for all passes, and client walks/outings will typically occur during normal daylight hours.

As mentioned above, Willow Glen Care Center operates 10 total facilities here in northern California, and at all of our facilities we strive to be good neighbors. I have personally worked for the organization for the past fifteen years, and it is very important to me that our programs add value to our local neighborhoods. The building will be well-maintained, and the yard and grounds will be kept in immaculate condition. There is ample off-street parking for our employees (10 paved spots) and our employees, clients, and visitors will be encouraged to be kind and respectful members of this neighborhood.

Of course, if there are any questions that you may have I want you to feel free to reach out to me directly. I will do my best to respond to any concerns, and the best way to reach me is via email: goodneighbors@wgcc.us

I apologize for not reaching out to our neighbors earlier, and I hope that my negligence has not been interpreted an attempt to deceive anyone. Many of our clients are at risk and have been mistreated or victimized in the past due to the stigma surrounding their diagnoses, so I often err on the side of discretion.

All that being said, I’m confident that The Lighthouse will become a point of pride for this neighborhood, and, as the name implies, a beacon of hope for the community members we serve.

Thank you,

David Gilbert