COUNTY NEWS UPDATE

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH – Plans are moving forward slowly but surely on the relocation of juvenile and substance abuse treatment programs in the county.
Berrien County Commissioners have been talking about the future of the Berrien County Juvenile Center for much of the summer. Commissioners more recently have added the future of substance abuse treatment programs to the discussion.
County Administrator Brian Dissette told commissioners in July that the current juvenile center building in Berrien Township has reached the end of its life. Commissioners earlier this year concluded that it would be best to build a new center on county owned property on Napier Avenue in Benton Township rather than invest in the current site.
The county purchased the Napier Avenue land several years ago and it is already home to the Berrien County Health Department and Animal Control. There has been some talk about creating a county campus of services at that location.
The current juvenile center opened in 1974 and has a capacity of 42 beds for detention and residential programs for justice involved youth. A study commissioned by the county earlier this year identified short and long term capital needs totaling $5 million. That study recommended demolishing the existing center and building a new facility.
Commissioners in early August took the first step in the process of relocating the center by hiring Wightman & Associates along with the DLR firm to do site planning and design for the new center at the Napier location. That contract calls for the county to pay the two firms $100,000 or more to pre-design and other work.
Last week, the discussion moved on to the need for a new home for residential treatment programs currently housed in the former Berrien General Hospital next to the Juvenile Center in Berrien Township.
Spectrum Health Lakeland President Dr. Loren Hamel told commissioners that Spectrum currently leases space to and supports the Sacred Heart/Serenity Hills treatment program in the former Berrien General Hospital facility.
“The Berrien General building is at the end of its life,” Hamel said. “We can’t return it to a useful shape without tearing it down and rebuilding … I want to alert you that we’re at a critical juncture, we need to find another home for them to have them continue.”
He said that a feasibility study has shown that Serenity Hills needs a 14,000 square foot building that would cost $5.5 million to build. The new building would have space for detoxification, residential and outpatient services.
Hamel said Berrien County has been fortunate to have the Serenity Hills facility here as such residential programs are not available in many parts of the state and the country. “It’s hard to find services, we’re fortunate to have this,” he said. “If we didn’t have this facility, it would be extremely hard to find a place for people who need it.”
He noted that it serves not only this county but surrounding counties, with 28 inpatient beds and up to 1,100 submissions annually. He said that six percent of patients in the Spectrum Health Lakeland hospitals have substance abuse problems and that alcohol and drug overdoses are a significant cause of mortality among young people.
Those numbers have continued to rise in recent years, he said. The areas in Berrien County with the largest populations, Benton Harbor and Niles, also have the highest number of Emergency Department visits for alcohol and drug overdoses.
He told commissioners that Spectrum Lakeland had provided about $2 million in support to Serenity Hills/Sacred Heart over the last few years and is willing to be a partner in a future project although not as a landlord as it is now.
“These services protect jobs, relationships, children and save lives,” he said. “Substance abuse treatment is not a money making business. We’re committed to serve the whole community including those with no resources or insurance. To have these services continue, we all have to come together and support them.”
County Administrator Brian Dissette asked commissioners to think about amending the Wightman/DLR contract to include the Serenity Hills/Sacred Heart project. He emphasized that everything is in the planning stages and that the county board is not being asked to commit any dollars to such a project yet.
County Commissioner Jim Curran said the goal right now is to concentrate on forming a partnership with Spectrum and Serenity Hills/Sacred Heart and finding a location for such a facility. The Napier Avenue site has been considered due to the synchronicity of having the juvenile center near a treatment facility.
County Commissioner Ezra Scott said he has concerns. “I understand the need and desire to provide services and I think they are vital as I expect mental health needs to go up,” he said. “But looking at the financial side, we’re building a new juvenile center and I wonder what the county can absorb.”
Also last week, the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office was approved to get more staffing to handle victims’ rights and investigative needs. Seven new positions are being added, four evidence clerks, one victim advocate, one sexual assault/domestic violence case investigator and one violent crimes case investigator.
The county board also accepted a $15,000 state grant for the health department to support the monkeypox virus response. It also extended a contract with the Mosaic Christian Community Development Association for a year to provide pandemic quarantine and isolation services for vulnerable communities.
The county board’s regular meeting featured action on four resolutions including one honoring Commissioner Mamie Yarbrough’s late husband. Charles “Mickey” Yarbrough died earlier this summer. He was a county juvenile probation officer, Benton Harbor Commissioner and Benton Harbor Mayor in the past.