Mental Health Facility Has Orangevale Residents Upset
ORANGEVALE (CBS13) — Neighbors in Orangevale are angry about a mental health facility coming to their area. The company is called Turning Point and they already have other locations across the county. But in order to expand an existing facility to include 15 beds, a use permit has to be granted by the county.
"It's not the type of neighborhood where a facility like that should be," said Miryam Rosello, who lives next door to the planned facility.
A line of bushes and a 6-foot black gate are the only things separating Rosello and her family from the planned Elm Avenue site.
"They will not be closed in so they can come out," she said. "I don't know how to put it but they are right next door. We might hear screaming!"
She and her neighbors found out three weeks ago, Turning Point Community Programs is looking to move in and bring a crisis program to Orangevale.
"These are ordinary, everyday people who have had an experience with stress, with anxiety, with depression, that may have required hospitalization in the past," said Ted Wolter, the Chief of Staff for District 4 Sacramento County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan. "People who have experienced a mental health crisis in the past and are now getting ready to come back to the community but aren't quite ready to go home or go back to their job yet."
These patients would typically stay in the facility anywhere from 20 to 60 days.
"I don't think it's really a good idea," said Kim Kastner, who lives on Elm Ave. "They're mental patients and they can be roaming all over the neighborhood."
The facility has been in use before but with 6 beds, it only required approval from the state.
However, to open 15 beds, the company needs a permit from Sacramento County. Two weeks ago, Turning Point and one of the county's Behavioral Health representatives presented the plans to neighbors in a preliminary workshop. But at this point, Turning Point has not yet officially applied for a permit.
"Facilities like this are needed, but you've gotta make sure you put them in the right place for them to be successful," Wolter said.
Rosello understands that people go through difficult times but still told CBS 13 she doesn't think her street isn't the right place for the facility especially with 4 schools nearby.
"We just refinanced; we just decided we want to stay, not move," Rosello said. "If we would have known, we would have moved."
Once an application has been filed, it could take around 6 months before a permit is granted. Even then, it could take several more months before the facility finally opens its doors with interior construction still necessary inside of the building.
