Senator Mike McGuire at yesterday’s press conference.


###

PREVIOUSLY

###

Large state investments for two mental healthcare facilities coming to Eureka and Arcata were announced by State Senator Mike McGuire at a press conference yesterday, totaling over $6 million for the Mad River Triage Center and the Sorrel Leaf Healing Center

The Mad River Triage Center will be a “crisis stabilization, sobering, and crisis residential center” with beds for 43 patients when it opens in 2027 on Mad River Hospital’s campus in Arcata. McGuire said yesterday that the state has earmarked $5.5 million for the project, which will break ground next year. 

It’s the latest addition to past rounds of funding for the project, which also received $12.3 million from the California Department of Health Care Services in 2023. 

Additionally, McGuire said the state was granting $750,000 to the Sorrel Leaf Healing Center near Indianola, a 12-bed, 13-acre “therapeutic farm” for youth experiencing mental health issues. It’s set to open in 2026. 

McGuire and other local officials highlighted the “desperate need” Humboldt has for expanded behavioral health services. 

“The reality has overwhelmed local emergency rooms and providers for years,” McGuire said. “[There’s an] increased number of homeless on our streets because there’s simply nowhere to go. There aren’t enough services. This is incredibly personal to me; it choked up my family. My family has seen addiction firsthand…From Westhaven to Weott, people in our community desperately need health care that’s appropriate, that’s comprehensive and effective, and treats patients in crisis.”