KBIA Local
(2009-11-19)
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COLUMBIA, MO
(KBIA) -
The Jeff City City Council approved this week the development for a 16-bed mental health facility owned by Pathways Community Behavioral Health Services. The treatment center will not be a locked facility, and intensive programs would range from 30-90 days, with the aim of getting those struggling with mental health back into a productive role in the working world.
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The council voted 7-3 in favor of the development, in the face of opposition from residents who live near Truman Boulevard, where the Pathways facility will be located. Fourth Ward City Council member Carrie Carroll was one of three members to vote against the proposal, but she says she's confident that Pathways will build a safe and productive facility.
"I feel confident that it's going to end up being okay there and I think this organization is definitely a high caliber organization and I'm sure they will make sure that everything is correct and how it should be there. So I think in the end it will be fine there."
Carroll says that Pathways has done plenty of work in the Jefferson City area, and that mental health patients in the area have been getting aid from Pathways for years.
Kenneth Ferguson, the First Ward Councilman, agreed with Carroll, and says he is excited by the services that the Pathways facility will be able to provide the Jeff City area.
"Like any mental institution it provides the counseling, the training, the proper medication, and all those types of things that professional people in that field provide."
Ferguson explained that while there was not yet a set date for the facility's opening, the next few months were being targeted as the ideal time that the current building that will be used for the facility will be revamped and converted. © Copyright 2012, KBIA
