Skagit County is excited to announce the grand opening of the North Sound Evaluation and Treatment Center (E&T) located at 1420 State Route 20 in Sedro-Woolley, Washington. A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place on Thursday, August 25, 2022, to celebrate.
Operations of the facility are set to begin September 1, 2022. The E&T is being relocated from its current site at the North Cascades Gateway Campus in Sedro-Woolley following the transfer of this state-owned property to the Port of Skagit in December 2016.
This 16-bed facility will be operated by Telecare, an agency with extensive experience, and will provide inpatient mental health services to individuals ages 18 and above who are experiencing severe acute psychiatric symptoms. The E&T will provide 24-hour support to stabilize symptoms and prepare individuals to return home, or to other community-based programs as appropriate.
The facility provides our community another treatment resource to help Skagitonians get on a path to recovery and has been made possible through a partnership between Skagit County, Telecare, the North Sound Behavioral Health Administrative Services organization, the City of Sedro-Woolley, and the Washington State Department of Commerce.
Skagit County leaders are also exploring possible developments for phase two of the project, as the campus in Sedro-Woolley where the E&T is located includes space for additional behavioral health capacity. Future services will be determined by the North Star project’s identified priorities. Development of a second phase at the campus is dependent on identification and securement of additional funding.
Knowing that improving access to behavioral health care and housing are high-priority strategic goals, Skagit County and Public Health have also launched additional efforts to meet the needs of our community. This includes the North Star Project, a comprehensive effort of City Mayors and County Commissioners to address behavioral health and homelessness challenges in our community. The project will occur in two phases over the course of roughly 24 months, with phase one currently underway.
Another exciting project under construction is Martha’s Place, a housing development to open in Spring 2023 that will provide 70 units of Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) for households experiencing homelessness and low-income households at risk of homelessness. The project has been made possible due to the partnerships of Skagit County, City of Mount Vernon, Catholic Housing Services, Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, the Washington State Housing Trust Fund, and the Washington State Housing Finance Commission.
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