DEL NORTE— The San Luis Valley Behavioral Health Group (SLVBHG) opened the doors to their new clinic in Del Norte on Tuesday, Aug. 27. The clinic is located west of town next to the Family Dollar in a newly refurbished building that can hold up to four staff members at any given time. “We will base our hours of operation on the need of the community. We are just very happy to be here. This is our eighth satellite office in the Valley,” said SLVBHG CEO Fernando Martinez.
The building also has a child’s playroom and meeting facilities that will be available for public use in the future, once the needs of the facility have been met. “This is a MAT facility which is medically assisted treatment for people suffering from opioid abuse. We will also offer our other mental health services to the community of Del Norte and surrounding areas. So far my staff here have stated that this is the third busiest clinic in the Valley, which just shows the need for these types of services on the western edge,” continued Martinez.
Among several members of the community and SLVBHG staff members, Mayor Chris Trujillo was in attendance. “The town is in full support of this facility and the services they offer. It will be a huge benefit to the community to have a full-time presence from behavioral health here in town, more so than what they were doing in partnership with the hospital. We are very happy to have them here to offer their services to the Del Norte community,” stated Trujillo.
After taking a moment to cut the ribbon on the new facility, Martinez spoke to the crowd about the importance of mental health in the San Luis Valley, stating that SLVBHG is pleased to have a presence in almost every community from Crestone to Creede. “We are making a community statement that we are here for you. We are here for the family and friends of addicts and we are here to help.”
Del Norte Police Chief Robert Fresquez stated that the police department is also in full support of the clinic and the services they offer. “We first learned about the new clinic at a Neighborhood Watch meeting, and I was very happy to hear that they would be coming to Del Norte. Not only do they offer their MAT services to people struggling with addiction, but they offer support to family and friends as well. I highly recommend the community to take advantage of the services they offer. If people are willing, they can get the help the need here,” said Fresquez.
Martinez also announced that another clinic will be opening in the South Fork area sometime in the near future and that their mobile MAT unit will be hitting the road in September. “We will be able to reach out to more people this way. We now have clinics in San Luis, Antonito, La Jara, Monte Vista, Del Norte and soon South Fork. We also rent facilities in Crestone and Creede. Our facilities are linked to the main office out of Pueblo through a private VPN so they can share information and services.”
The clinic is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Office hours may change according to the need of the community in the future. For more information, please visit www.slvbhg.org or call the main office in Alamosa at 719-589-3671.