Sweetser, a behavioral health non-profit organization, is preparing to build the first facility in the state in Saco to address the mental health needs of children.
What was once a residential unit on its campus in Saco will become the first psychiatric residential treatment facility in Maine. The building, which spans 8,000 square feet, will have 16 beds for the most at-risk children and teenagers in the state. Among its features will be sensory space, activity rooms, a basketball court, and a nurse’s station.
Its goal is to create a home-like and safe setting for treatment in a facility that could last up to three quarters of a year. Kristie Worster, Chief Program Officer of Sweetser, the rooms will have therapeutic colors and stencils outside to make the rooms more inviting. Flyer printing can be used to inform residents and others in the area of such upcoming projects.
The cost of the facility will be $7.9 million. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services has given Sweetser $2 million and the non-profit plans to raise an additional $2.5 million from corporate partners.
The president and CEO of Sweetser, Jayne Van Bramer, said that many children end up in emergency rooms which is not acceptable to those in the healthcare industry. Van Bramer added that there now seems to be an agreement that this type of facility is very much needed.
