It is expected to take about a year, and when it is complete, a $6 million child and adolescent health complex will spring up as part of Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers on Delmar Blvd. in St. Louis. The center will be constructed east of the Social Security Administration Center on property owned by the health center at 5647 Delmar Blvd.
The official groundbreaking took place on February 29. While the official name has not been decided upon by the People’s board, they do know whose name will be included – Congress Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri. He is responsible for securing $3 million in federal funding for the facility. Clay described the facility as a new community asset that will break that toxic cycle of stress, depression, aggression and violence – saving lives, strengthening families and breaking the silence about mental health issues.
“The long-term impact of undiagnosed and untreated mental illness destroys lives and damages families. It can deprive young people of the positive future they were born to build. It can render parents unable to provide their children with the stable home life and nurturing environment that they deserve. It can leave our seniors alone, withdrawn, confused and left to wither away by themselves. But it doesn’t have to be this way,” Clay told the audience who attended the program following the groundbreaking.
“Our children don’t have to get trapped in the pipeline of violence, suspensions, prison and premature death. For their sake and for ours, we have to change that.
“If we can treat at-risk kids early by bringing the best primary care and mental health professionals together in an integrated care setting, we can help them now, instead of waiting to see the tragic results on the evening news.”
The City of St. Louis invested $3 million in Community Development Block Grant funding for the project.
“It’s a much-needed resource for families in crisis to be able to receive high-quality treatment for their children. Good integrated primary and behavioral healthcare will give them a better chance of being successful in school and life,” said St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay.
The facility was designed by Kennedy Associates Inc. Contractors include Hankins Construction Company for the building and Raineri Construction for parking.
The child and adolescent health building, dubbed Project Hope, will house three floors to accommodate 20,000 square feet of clinical and counseling support programming.
Dwayne Butler, president and CEO of PHC, said the new facility is part of a strategic plan to further develop communities and improve access to healthcare services.
“Children and adolescents behavioral health and primary care issues are at a crisis point in urban underserved communities. Too often, families recognize their children have behavioral health issues, but are unable to find help or unwilling to access help due to stigma,” Butler said. “All too often, these children grow up to lead unproductive lives. It’s time we bring this issue to the forefront of our communities overall health discussion and treat behavioral health with the dignity and respect our community deserves.”
For 43 years, PHC has providing primary health services to some of the most vulnerable communities in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
PHC said the project will help create an environment that promotes active living and personal involvement in reducing neighborhood decline, describing it as a model on how to creatively leverage community resources.
For more information, visit phchopeforkids.com.
