Bootheel Behavioral Health breaks ground on transformative housing initiative

SIKESTON — A groundbreaking ceremony was held Tuesday, Feb. 25 for the new Bootheel Behavioral Health Supportive Housing project located at the corner of Roth Street and Murray Lane in Sikeston.

According to David Terrell, executive director of Bootheel Behavioral Health, they have grown over the years to include a multitude of behavioral health services.

The certified community behavioral health center specializes in evidence-based practices for counseling, medication management, community-based care, crisis intervention and a multitude of other services.

“I just want to say how dedicated we are to the community,” Terrell said. "This is just another example of how committed we are to our community by investing in our community and our clients alike.”

Terrell said the housing project is dedicated to two former executive directors  of Bootheel Behavioral Health, Ron Steinmetz and Cheryl A. Jones, with the new street named Steinmetz Way and the subdivision named the Cheryl A. Jones subdivision.

“Right now we are standing on Steinmetz Way,” Terrell said Tuesday. “We are really pleased and we can’t wait to see the completed houses and the impact of the houses and the design behind us here, which Dille Pollard LLC designed.”

Terrell said Bootheel staff are really excited to see how the housing impacts the clients.

“We’re thankful for our board, our staff, the community and the clients that trust us and the partners that have made this come to life,” Terrell said.

Terrell said for the housing, through their Community Psychiatric Rehabilitation Program, or CPRP, clients will be chosen for housing based on needs. He said they will be efficiency homes.

“Four homes will be just one-bedroom; two will be two-bedrooms and one will be a three-bedroom which we will use for a little bit as office space,” Terrell said.

Terrell said the hope is for construction to be done by the end of the year.

Bootheel Behavioral Health has been providing behavioral health care for nearly 50 years.

In addition, he said Bootheel Behavioral Health will also soon introduce a cutting-edge treatment that is non-invasive and non-medication-based for patients who have not responded well to the treatment of depression.