photo by: Journal-World

The west side of the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

Douglas County commissioners will consider adopting a budget for a program providing peer support services on Wednesday, which includes a position to help develop a “clubhouse model” for people with mental illness and substance use disorders.

The county’s Peer Fellows program employs people with lived experience of mental health challenges, substance use disorders and homelessness to help others navigate similar experiences. The program started in 2019, when the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center had five part-time peer specialists supporting Medicaid clients in outpatient services.

The proposed 2027 budget totals $231,000, and it includes funding for 14 peer fellow positions across multiple agencies, totaling 9.4 full-time equivalent positions. The budget is included on the county commissioners’ consent agenda, where all items are typically approved in one motion.

Since the program first launched, it has expanded into other organizations, such as the City of Lawrence’s Homeless Response Team, Just Food’s Cruising Cupboard, family support services, the Treatment & Recovery Center, Bert Nash’s Mobile Response Team and specialty courts.

There are also peer first responders that support Heartland RADAC’s Intensive Care Coordination program by responding to referrals from law enforcement and the Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health’s Mobile Integrated Health team.

The program is meant to help achieve goals outlined in the county’s Community Health Improvement Plan — a 2024-2029 roadmap for the health and wellbeing of Douglas County. The plan calls for increasing the number of employed peer specialists, certified peer mentors, recovery coaches and peer first responders.

The plan also has a key objective to establish a “clubhouse model” by 2028 to support community members living with mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse disorders and offer non-clinical opportunities, as the Journal-World reported. Douglas County is calling their proposed clubhouse Anchor Pointe.

An example of a nearby clubhouse is Lotus House in Topeka. At Lotus, participants receive guidance on finding affordable housing and with job searches while being given opportunities to socialize with peers and being in a supportive environment for their recovery journey.

A factor of the program at Lotus is a structured “work-ordered day,” where staff and participants work together to operate the clubhouse through activities such as food service, clerical work, outreach and housing support.

Douglas County has not outlined any specific plans for its own clubhouse model yet, but staff have been considering elements from the program in Topeka. A memo in the agenda said Breakthrough Episcopal Services is the designated organization supporting the startup of Anchor Pointe, and funding is included in the proposed program budget for a 0.5 full-time equivalent specialist position costing $33,150.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, COMMISSIONERS WILL:

• Consider a five-year contract with Axon Enterprise Inc. for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office to maintain and upgrade its law enforcement cameras, recording systems, software, cloud storage and TASER devices. The contract would run from January 2027 through December 2031, with annual payments of $321,493 for a total cost of $1.61 million.

The County Commission will meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Douglas County Commission meeting room at 1100 Massachusetts St. The meeting will also be available via Zoom.