We are pleased to invite you to a series of meetings designed to provide information on Multnomah County’s creation of a Crisis Assessment and Treatment Center.

The facility will serve as a place where people can receive mental health treatment instead of being sent to a hospital or a jail.

The center is a top priority for Multnomah County and its Board of Commissioners, and it’s slated to open roughly in 2012.

It will be an integral piece of the mental health care system. In order to make sure the center opens on time and meets the needs of the community, we need your help.

We would like you to attend two community engagement meetings this fall. The first will be held on Sept. 21 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Lincoln Building, 421 S.W. Oak St.

The meetings will:

* Give community members a chance to look at architectural drawings and learn about the redesigned building; and

* Allow stakeholders to gain an understanding of the program’s overall goals and provide input.

After these community engagement meetings, our Mental Health and Addictions Services Division will create an advisory committee to continue looking over the project.

The advisory committee and the community will receive regular updates from the Mental Health and Addictions Services Division staff until the center is completed.

There’s a lot of work to be done before we can open the Crisis Assessment and Treatment Center. But we’d love to have your participation in creating this critical piece of our county’s mental health care system.

Please RSVP to Lisa Rand-Thibeau by e-mail at lisa.rand-thibeau@co.multnomah.or.us or by phone at 503-988-4055 no later than September 15th.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Joanne Fuller, Director Multnomah County Human Services

OUR COMMENT – Ed Blackburn, executive director of Central City Concern told Multnomah County Commissioners on July 2 2009 this facility would be open in April 2010.

Remember – mental health treatment delayed is mental health treatment denied.