Construction is underway for a new outreach centre at 437 Martin St. Photographer: Steve Arstad

Penticton outreach centre relocating to where need is greatest

PENTICTON – A new outreach centre planned for Penticton will make mental health services more accessible for the people who need it most.

Interior Health announced plans Wednesday, April 29, to relocate an outreach program that helps connect clients with physicians and other health services.

The Martin Street Outreach Centre, located at 437 Martin St., is expected to open its doors to clients May 15 and will provide expanded primary care services for community members suffering from mental health and substance use issues, who don’t have access to primary care through traditional means.

“The centre will be there for a more marginalized clientele,” Interior Health Community Mental Health Substance Abuse Programs Manager Joseph Savage explains. “The services available at 437 Martin St. will not be available to everyone. The centre will help reduce a barrier for much of the clientele, who live in the downtown area, by making more services available to them in their neighbourhood."

The new centre will operate within the existing budget, with no increases planned.

The current program, located out of the Penticton Health Centre, offers a collaborative program consisting of a group of local general practice physicians and Interior Health personnel who assist clients with mental health and substance abuse issues access services. Once the Martin Street centre opens, clients will have access five days per week to physicians and integrated care. Savage said the centre is designed to be a 'one stop model' providing a mix of outreach and medical services, including opportunities for clients to book medical appointments.

Interior Health Board Chair Erwin Malzer says many of the individuals needing the service had chronic mental health issues with complex care needs requiring consistent monitoring and management. He says with better access to these facilities clients will get the health support they need in order to control their illnesses and avoid sudden trips to emergency or hospital admissions.

The centre will also house programs such as the Community Crisis Response Team, a Stop HIV nurse and other services. Counselling, psychiatry and life skills training will also be made available.

A community open house is planned for later this summer.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

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2 responses

  1. Shane Sorenson

    This seems like a perfect area for the centre.It is in the downtown core, close to the “Soupeteria” where alot of people needing help usually go for lunch.Thank You Penticton for providing us with this much needed resource! Finally, some help for our brothers and sisters that strive to overcome daily challenges and obstacles due to mental health and dependency issues. Together we can illicit positive change and stand up to the stigma that seems to pervate everything we say or do. I ll see you there! Strength in numbers :)

  2. Roy T Stutt

    glad to see this happening in PentictonThere are so many with mental problems who need this service.

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Steve Arstad

Steve Arstad

I have been looking for news in the South Okanagan - SImilkameen for 20 years, having turned a part time lifelong interest into a full time profession. After five years publishing a local newsletter, several years working as a correspondent / stringer for several local newspapers and seven years as editor of a Similkameen weekly newspaper, I joined iNFOnews.ca in 2014. My goal in the news industry has always been to deliver accurate and interesting articles about local people and places. My interest in the profession is life long - from my earliest memories of grade school, I have enjoyed writing.
As an airborne geophysical surveyor I travelled extensively around the globe, conducting helicopter borne mineral surveys.
I also spent several years at an Okanagan Falls based lumber mill, producing glued-wood laminated products.
As a member of the Kaleden community, I have been involved in the Kaleden Volunteer Fire Department for 22 years, and also serve as a trustee on the Kaleden Irrigation District board.
I am currently married to my wife Judy, of 26 years. We are empty-nesters who enjoy living in Kaleden with our Welsh Terrier, Angus, and cat, Tibbs.
Our two daughters, Meagan and Hayley, reside in Richmond and Victoria, respectively.

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