On land where a bar once stood, the Nisqually Indian Tribe has laid the foundations for generations of tribal and non-tribal members alike to heal from substance use disorders.
The 22,000-square-foot Nisqually Indian Tribe Generations Healing Center opens to the public on Monday, Nov. 9, providing integrated care under one roof to those recovering from opioid use disorder and other substance use disorders.
Services include primary care, dental care, behavioral counseling and medication management.
The center additionally offers services intended to reduce barriers to accessing care, including transportation, childcare, vocational and educational referrals, and case management to patients participating in substance use disorder services.
The healing center is open to anyone who needs care, whether they are a member of the Nisqually Indian Tribe or not.
“While we're providing services to our members, we know there's a lot of communities out there that need that pathway of being able to get that healing, as well,” Nisqually Tribal Councilmember Guido Levy Jr. said during a grand opening celebration on Thursday, Nov. 5.
The healing center being open to all is a sign of care the Nisqually Tribe has for the greater community, said tribal administrator and Suquamish Tribe member Lorilee Morsette.
“They care so much deeply about the things that they do, and this is an extension of the love that they're going to be expressing within this community,” Morsette said. “When you're having a hard time, remember how much Nisqually loves this community, and that there's a place here to bring loved ones and to share those difficult times together. Because this place will help people rebuild their lives and repair the challenges that they're going through.”
Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland attested to the Nisqually Tribe’s commitment to taking care of the community at large, recalling how they opened up their headquarters as a vaccination center during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The work they do extends beyond the tribe. They are truly about community,” Strickland said.
Strickland and other lawmakers who helped the Nisqually Tribe secure the funding and permits necessary to build the Generations Healing Center spoke Thursday about the impact they expect this center to have within Thurston County.
“This example of health and healing is exactly what the future of healthcare should look like in the entire United States,” Strickland said.
Said Thurston County Commissioner Wayne Fournier, “In the years ahead, the meaning of this place will be found in quieter moments: someone asking for help, someone being welcomed with compassion, a family beginning to heal, and someone discovering that their hardest chapter does not have to determine the rest of their life.”
Thurston County Commissioner Rachel Grant spoke on her own experience recovering from substance use disorder more than 20 years ago, and how much a place like the Nisqually Indian Tribe Generations Healing Center would have helped her recovery.
“When I look at this beautiful building, I do not see just a new treatment facility. I see second chances,” Grant said. “I'm living proof that recovery changes lives, and you know, the next person walking through those doors could be standing here someday, leading this community.”
State Rep. Beth Doglio spoke about her nephew, who was once minutes away from losing his life to an overdose.
“I'm happy to say that he is fully recovered and has been that way for many years now, but I'm hoping that we see a lot more of that because of this dream come true here for our community that the Nisqually Tribe made possible,” Doglio said.
On the law enforcement side, Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders said that the new facility will make a dramatic difference for his deputies and other law enforcement personnel responding to calls about non-criminal offenses, which are most often linked to substance use or behavioral health problems.
“We are seeing people on their worst days, and so often the things that we're called to are actually not criminal offenses. We're really just there trying to figure out where we need to connect someone,” Sanders said.
Olympic Health and Recovery Services has been a valuable partner in recent years helping respond to those calls as a first point of contact, but there is still a question of where to take people who need care.
Nisqually Indian Tribe Generations Healing Center answers that question.
“This will always be a place that will help them get back on their feet. This is the kind of place that I would trust with my own family members,” Sanders said.
The Nisqually Indian Tribe Generations Healing Center began as a concept in the tribe’s 2013 community vision plan, and became a reality after the Nisqually Indian Tribe purchased the former site of Frankie’s Sports Bar and Grill, located at 3663 Pacific Avenue Southeast, in 2020.
Construction on the new health center broke ground in 2023.
For more information, including hours of operation and available services, visit https://www.nisqually-nsn.gov/tribal-services/nisqually-generations-healing-center
