Windham Regional Health and Wellness Center on Track to Open Spring 2019
Mansfield, CT – U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney and U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development regional staff today toured the construction site for United Services new Windham Regional Health and Wellness Center, scheduled to open in Spring 2019.
Courtney and USDA personnel were updated on the new building’s progress. The new facility will co-locate adult and family services on public transit routes in Mansfield just over the Windham town line. United Services is partially financing the $14 million project with a $9.9 million federal loan from USDA, which the agency procured with the help of Congressman Courtney and Connecticut’s U.S. Senate Delegation
United Services continues to seek the support of local representatives and senators in advocating for the Governor to provide Bond Commission funding from the state. The agency has sought state support since 2011, and will soon launch a capital campaign to help secure the additional funding needed for the project. Currently United Services is seeking a state investment of $3.5 million towards the costs of the expansion and consolidation of behavioral health services in a region that has traditionally not received equitable service funding from the State of Connecticut.
Since the start of the Great Recession, United Services’ Outpatient Mental Health volume has more than doubled – and as of 2017 is now 253% the volume of the community behavioral health center’s outpatient mental health services provided in 2007, with no end in sight to the increased demand for services.
Meanwhile, a recent study of Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services funding revealed that in Northeast Connecticut, the non-profit Local Mental Health Authority receives per capita funding of only $3,110 per client per year, compared to funding exceeding $20,000 per client per year in certain Local Mental Health Authorities operated by the State of Connecticut in other regions.
“We appreciate Congressman Courtney’s long-standing support of our agency and behavioral wellness in our region,” said Diane L. Manning, President/CEO of United Services. “The USDA loan has made construction of our future home possible, and with equitable state support, we look forward to expanding and improving services for the children, adults and families in the Windham Region.”
Photo caption: United Services and USDA officials with Congressman Joe Courtney at Tuesday’s tour of United Services new Windham Regional Health and Wellness Center, scheduled to open in Spring 2019 in Mansfield. From left: project Architect Karl Norton, USI CFO Robert DeVerna, USI President/CEO Diane L. Manning, Congressman Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, USDA State Director George Krivda, President of the Windham Chamber of Commerce Diane Nadeau.
About United Services, Inc.
United Services, Inc. is a private, non-profit and comprehensive behavioral health center, creating healthy communities throughout northeast Connecticut for over 50 years through mental health and social service programs, chemical abuse treatment, domestic violence programs, and community behavioral health prevention and education programs. With 12 locations and a staff of over 250, United Services operates more than 30 separate behavioral health programs, including the only domestic violence shelter for women and children in the region. United Services is also the designated Youth Service Bureau in 10 towns within its service area, and its Center for Autism has recently brought specialized treatment and programs for children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families to eastern Connecticut and surrounding areas. United Services, Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. To learn more, visit www.UnitedServicesCT.org.