Lifeways, a major mental health provider in Ontario, is proposing a major expansion of its services to care for those needing treatment for substance abuse and psychiatric issues, according to state records and interviews.
The $19 million project would add eastern Oregon’s first behavioral crisis center, dubbed Project Hope. The center would provide a place for those in a mental health crisis.
“The number one priority for Malheur County law enforcement officials, hospitals and community partners is the creation of a crisis stabilization facility – Project Hope achieves this priority,” Lifeways wrote in its bid to get $15 million in state funding.
A second facility would provide around-the-clock care for those being treated for substance abuse.
In Malheur County, which lacks sufficient resources to treat mental health and drug addiction, the expansion could “provide the building blocks to build healthier communities in eastern Oregon,” according to documents filed by Lifeways with the state.
Steve Jensen, chief executive officer of Lifeways, said in a Friday, Nov. 1 phone interview that the project would provide secure residential treatment beds, which are not available anywhere in eastern Oregon.
Timothy Heider, a communications representative for the Oregon Health Authority, said there is no timeline for the funds to be approved. Heider said that “there is an intent to award” the funding.
State records projected “moving dirt” in November and operations to begin in April 2026.
The “target population” for the expanded service would be “individuals struggling with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health issues,” Lifeways said in its submission to the state, released to the Enterprise through a public records request. “The program focuses on comprehensive mental health and substance use services for individuals who may not have access to treatment due to financial, social or other barriers.”
Lifeways said that “making culturally specific services available in the region and working to address the unique needs of Hispanic families in the region are paramount to the project.”
Lifeways had originally planned a project at the former West Park Plaza but now proposes two new buildings near its own campus.
One would be the crisis stabilization center, operating 24 hours a day on a lot that Lifeways owns adjacent to its primary location on Sunset Drive in Ontario. The facility would provide police a place to take people for urgent attention without going to the emergency room. Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Ontario has served as a defacto mental health facility for the shortage of other options.
This complex would include 10 secured slots for those charged with crimes but unable to aid in their own defense or those guilty of crimes except for insanity. Those individuals are often put under the jurisdiction of the Oregon Psychiatric Security Review Board.
Alison Bort, executive director of the review board, said in a Friday, Nov. 1 email that there are no secure residential treatment facilities in Malheur County for those convicted but judged insane.
Malheur County Sheriff Travis Johnson told county commissioners last month that his office typically makes at least one trip to Salem every month to take patients to the state hospital.
The residential treatment facility would “provide safe, secure and homelike residential treatment services” for such individuals, the Lifeways application explained.
A separate complex would provide four beds for detox and 40 beds for those needing to be in a controlled residence while undergoing treatment for substance abuse.
This facility would be built on land at 1152 S.W. Third St. that is now owned by Malheur County but would be acquired by Lifeways, according to the state records.
The complex would have “transitional housing options for individuals discharged from treatment and experiencing a lack of housing or are currently unhoused,” the application papers said.
The plan is a major shift from what Lifeways had originally proposed.
In March, Lifeways received nearly $6 million to build a medical detox and mental health respite center at the former shopping mall on Southwest Fourth Avenue.
He said the location proved too big of a facility for the funds Lifeways received. He said he wants to get legislative approval to shift that money for a primary care and mental health facility at the location.
News tip? Send your information to Steven Mitchell at [email protected].
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