North Morrow Volume XVIIII Number 2 September 2, 2011
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Community Counseling Solutions building nears completion A 3,300 square foot office building is nearing completion on Kinkade Street (west of Boardman Family Foods). The owner of the building is Community Counseling Solutions (CCS), a name which tends to bring blank looks when quoted. Who is CCS and what is the purpose of the new office building? The history of Community Counseling Solutions is long and colorful. In fact, it extends all the way back to the 1970’s. It was at that time that the State of Oregon created what they called local mental health authorities. These authorities were actually the counties of Oregon, and the state decided that each county could operate a community mental health program itself, or it could contract with a private not-for-profit mental health agency. So, Morrow County instituted its own community mental health program called Morrow County Mental Health. In those early days, Morrow County temporarily paired with Wheeler County and at one time Gilliam County, but it wasn’t until 1996 that they joined for good. The agency changed its name to Morrow
County Behavioral Health to avoid the stigma associated with the term “mental health.” In 1996, Wheeler County joined, and the agency entered into a unique agreement with the Wheeler County Commission of Children and Families, Wheeler County, and the Juvenile Crime Prevention Program. They created a school-based counselor program in which the agency assigned a clinician to the schools in Wheeler County to do both mental health
and addictions counseling at no cost whatsoever to the kids, with no formal intake packet required. This streamlined access of services to schoolchildren, meaning all they had to do was reach out for help. The program is still growing strong and provides services and resources to over 300 children. The Wheeler County SchoolBased Counselor Program has demonstrated results in reduction in juvenile crime, improved academics, and improved cognitive
Join the Port of Morrow Tour! The September Chamber Membership Lunch will be a tour of the Port of Morrow, on Wednesday, September 21. “Tour Guide” will be Port Commissioner Marv Padberg, telling all the good things that are happening at our busy Port. We load the bus at 11:30 am at the Port of Morrow and return at 1:30 pm. The cost of the lunch, catered by Boardman Select Market, will be $20.00 for this month only. Please RSVP as soon as possible. You must have a reservation to attend as we will have a limited number of seats on the bus. Call 541-481-3014
skills. In 2004, the administration of Morrow County Behavioral Health and the Morrow County commissioners were in agreement that the agency would be better able to serve the needs of Morrow and Wheeler Counties if it became a private not-for-profit agency. The 501(c)3 application was completed, a board of directors was chosen, contracts were signed, and on July 1, 2007, the official name of the agency became Morrow Wheeler Behavioral Health. In March 2008, Gilliam and Grant Counties contracted with the agency and that year the name changed again to its present name of Community Counseling Solutions. Through a partnership with Columbia Care, they were able to help establish Columbia River Ranch, the first residential treatment facility for those with severe and persistent mental illness in eastern Oregon. Seeing a need for more advanced psychiatric care on this side of the state, Community Counseling Solutions then completed in February, 2010 a secure residential treatment facility in south Morrow County called Lakeview Heights. This facility provides services to civilly committed
individuals. The facility offers 24hour awake, trained staff to provide supervision, protection, and assistance with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, grooming, preparation of meals, as well as money management, transportation, and recreation. The goal is to provide a safe, secure facility that recognizes the dignity, individuality and right to self-determination of each resident and promotes recovery. Lakeview Heights has eight state-funded beds and two crisis beds, and gives priority to residents of Morrow, Wheeler, Gilliam, and Grant counties. CCS offers a wide variety of behavioral health services to four counties (Morrow, Gilliam, Wheeler and Grant counties) including individual, family, and group therapy, alcohol and drug treatment, 24/7 crisis intervention services, psychiatric consultation, and medication management, in addition to cooperation with various other organizations including residential treatment and schools. They also offer case management for developmental disabilities in six counties. Check out their website: www. communitycounselingsolutions.org for information on their other services