Fort Pierce - Saturday August 27, 2022: New Horizons of the Treasure Coast and Okeechobee was approved last week for a grant of $10,000 from the City of Fort Pierce to help with interior improvements at the mental health agency’s outpatient office at 709 South 5th Street.
A condition of the grant was to raise matching funds, which the Turkey Trot at Tradition donated to New Horizons.
Turning $10,000 into $20,000 affords New Horizons the opportunity to undertake much-needed updates and repairs to the outpatient office. Funds from the combined awards are already being used to install American Disabilities Act-compliant doorknobs, energy-conserving lighting, and fresh paint.
“We are honored to receive grants from the Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency and from the Turkey Trot at Tradition,” said William Wims, CEO at New Horizons. “Our 5th Street facility has needed attention for some time, but with mental health funding scarce as it is, then a pandemic, we have had to get creative in delivering services to our clients. These funds are a blessing.”
In addition, when the Turkey Trot at Tradition team learned that New Horizons doubled its gift, they announced that New Horizons would again be the beneficiary of the 2022 race, which will help continue the repairs and improvements.
The South 5th Street location is the agency’s busiest outpatient office, providing 2,000 individual clients with therapy, medical care, case management, counseling, and a wraparound program for adults with severe and persistent mental illness called FACT (Florida Assertive Community Treatment).
Future improvements include a new roof, tile floors, and updates in the lobby and clinical offices to create a welcoming environment for the expansion of programs to underserved populations.
Established in 1958, New Horizons is the largest mental health and substance use recovery provider in the region, with nine offices across St. Lucie, Martin, Indian River, and Okeechobee counties. As a non-profit organization, New Horizons serves on average 15,000 adults and children (ages 4-18) annually, regardless of their ability to pay for services. The agency also provides drug/alcohol prevention programs and anti-bullying curricula to 23,000 students K-12 across the Treasure Coast and Okeechobee. Since Covid, almost 70% of New Horizons clients have no source of income or any insurance, yet no one is turned away from mental health care due to a lack of financial resources.
To learn more about New Horizons, visit www.nhtcinc.org.
To get involved in the improvement project at 709 S. 5th Street, please call 772-672-8333.