Community Foundation Santa Cruz has awarded Encompass a $40,000 grant to support the agency's capital campaign to develop a new Sí Se Puede Behavioral Health Center in Watsonville! Once complete, Encompass’s new behavioral health center will have the capacity to deliver high quality, accessible, and culturally appropriate substance use disorder and mental health treatment services to 1,300 community members every year.
"Like so many communities nationwide, Santa Cruz County is in the midst of a substance use and opioid epidemic, yet high costs, limited program openings, and stigma around seeking treatment are significant barriers to getting our community members the support they need and deserve," said Encompass CEO Monica Martinez, "Our new Sí Se Puede Behavioral Health Center will reduce those barriers by providing bright, new, state-of-the-art facilities and personalized care that’s accessible to all. Through their generous support, Community Foundation Santa Cruz is sending a clear message that those seeking treatment are worth investing in and that our community supports their path to better health. We are deeply grateful for their support."
Encompass’s grant is part of Community Foundation Santa Cruz’s 2022 Community Grants cycle, which provided $1.7 million in funding for nonprofits who are addressing pressing local issues and creating lasting positive impact.
“The opioid crisis is right here at home,” said Susan True, CEO of Community Foundation Santa Cruz. “We want our community to be one where no more lives are lost and people seeking help are greeted with expertise and care. Sí Se Puede brings us one step closer to hope for families at this critical time.”
Encompass's Sí Se Puede Behavioral Health Center project is also supported by generous philanthropists, and public and private grants, including a $2.5 million grant from the Central Coast Alliance for Health. The agency needs additional funding to support the Sí Se Puede Behavioral Health Center project. Anyone interested in supporting the project or learning more can contact Encompass’s Director of Development and Community Relations Liz.Burkhart@encompasscs.org.
About the Sí Se Puede Behavioral Health Center in Watsonville
The new Sí Se Puede Behavioral Health Center expands on the successes of Encompass’s long-running treatment programs. The agency’s current bilingual and mono-lingual Spanish Sí Se Puede residential substance use disorder program in Watsonville was developed and is led by Latinos with lived experience and has been serving the Santa Cruz County community for more than 30 years. The new campus will allow Encompass to greatly expand the residential program capacity to serve more than 240 individuals with severe substance use disorder every year. The Center will also integrate and expand the capacity of Encompass’s current South County-based outpatient treatment program onsite to serve more than 1,100 community members with a variety of services – from substance use disorder treatment to mental health therapy – and includes spaces for family therapy and a 30-seat classroom to provide ongoing educational programming for family and community members.
“Accessing substance use and mental health services is especially difficult for Medi-Cal beneficiaries and uninsured individuals who must rely on limited openings at Drug Medi-Cal certified programs, like Encompass’s Sí Se Puede program,” said Martinez. “Offering bilingual, connected programs and facilities on one campus will help us provide our community members with the custom treatment, therapy, and ongoing support they need and deserve over time.”
Additionally, Encompass is co-developing its new behavioral health center with nonprofit developer MidPen, Housing, Inc. who is simultaneously building a 72-unit affordable housing community next door. The partners have co-located the campuses with the aim of increasing access to treatment and housing while also reducing stigma around seeking treatment.
For more information about Encompass’s Sí Se Puede Behavioral Health Center or to join the capital campaign, contact Liz.Burkhart@encompasscs.org.
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About Encompass Community Services
Encompass Community Services is the largest provider of health and human services in Santa Cruz County. The agency has been delivering culturally appropriate and evidence-based safety net services to the community for nearly 50 years and operates nearly 40 programs — from early childhood education, school readiness and youth mental health therapy programs to residential and outpatient substance use disorder treatment, mental health therapy, housing support, and more. As a health equity organization, Encompass is committed to providing everyone in Santa Cruz County with access to the high-quality services they need and deserve to enjoy the benefit of a long, healthy life. Encompass is over 90% publicly funded with an annual budget of $32M.