(FOX40.com) — Local and state leaders celebrated the groundbreaking for the SJ BeWell Campus on Wednesday morning.Video above: Families flock to Lodi Lake to beat the heat on Labor Day
“The services that are going to be on this campus are really to treat individuals with a mental health and/or substance abuse disorder and that is really just for this campus to be a continuum of care. Basically, whatever level of care children or adults need, they will be able to have it here at this facility,” Department of Health Care Services Division Chief Marlies Perez said.
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San Joaquin County Board Chair and District 2 Supervisor Paul Canepa described the groundbreaking as an “exciting” day for the county and one that has been in the works for a long time. He hopes it will encourage more people to seek the help that they need.
“This is huge because our behavioral health grounds are on 1212 North California Street, and it was the state hospital. The stigma with behavioral health was that, you know, people going to get help were possibly going to be kept there, so this is going to be a brand-new facility,” Canepa said. “It’s going to be able to triage folks and have emergency medicine as well as drug and alcohol treatment and behavioral health facility all in one.”
Beyond the services provided, Canepa believes facilities like the BeWell Campus will play a significant role in destigmatizing behavioral health treatment across the state…