Purpose of ORCA Behavioral Health:
“A socially responsible company with a dignified mission”.
The purpose of ORCA Behavioral Health is service; it was conceived by a group of professionals with decades of combined service in the medical field with a mission to help those who need it most. The partnership formed by the founding members of ORCA Behavioral Health represents minority-owned organizations, blue-collar professionals, and immigrants. This combination of perspectives is something ORCA Behavioral Health is proud of because it provides unique insight and capabilities through its diversity.
In Northern California there is a huge, un-met need to house the unsheltered, especially those individuals who suffer from mental illness and/or substance use disorders. Among the unsheltered population in Northern California there is a disproportionate number of minorities, including Native Americans. Also, a significant percentage are seniors, and many have mental illness and/or substance use disorders, making them more at risk for victimization due to their unsheltered status. As a result of co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders, these individuals are denied access to what limited shelter space is available, frequently leaving them with no alternatives to homelessness. This is the target population that the Shanti Senior Village project aims to serve by providing innovative, comprehensive care to seniors with mental illness and/or substance use disorders. ORCA Behavioral Health follows a ‘housing first’ principle and believes that dignified, safe, and private housing is the foundation to helping individuals overcome mental illness and substance use. Once housing stability is achieved through Shanti Senior Village’s residential component, individuals can heal and recover from addiction and mental illness with assistance from ORCA Behavioral Health’s comprehensive, whole-person care services.
Shanti Senior Village is thoughtfully designed to incorporate the best elements of the natural environment into the facility through an abundance of windows which open onto picturesque, park-like grounds. The outdoor space will include healing gardens, natural areas, pet areas, and ample opportunities for residents to socialize while enjoying the benefits of nature. The facility is also designed to be as close to carbon neutral as possible and will leverage sunlight through a large solar system to reduce energy usage. These outdoor amenities set the facility apart from others, and the services provided inside will also be unique by virtue of their comprehensiveness. ORCA Behavioral Health’s Shanti Senior Village plans to be much more than a residential facility and will provide those it serves with the tools they need to not just live, but thrive.
In addition to creating the Shanti Senior Village facility, ORCA Behavioral Health aims to further develop over time and expand, in part, by creating meaningful partnerships with local Native American tribes. In partnership with tribes and other potential community partners, ORCA Behavioral Health plans to develop economic enterprises as a means to introduce opportunity into Native American communities. Specifically, ORCA Behavioral Health has a vision to develop organic farms in partnership with tribes to grow organic produce for lucrative niche markets, thereby providing long-term benefits to local Native communities in the form of employment. The intent of future tribal partnerships is to improve the lives of members of the Native American communities in Northern California, a segment of the population that has historically been underserved in so many ways.
Although ORCA Behavioral Health is based on a for-profit business model, the organization commits to re-investing profits into its mission of service. At least 5% of profits will be donated directly to AIM for Seva, a well-respected charity in India that has, for over 2 decades, assisted poor children to attend school and escape a life of poverty. Other profits will be re-invested into creating additional service modalities. Ultimately, ORCA Behavioral Health would like to offer permanent, supportive housing to seniors with mental illness in multiple locations around the North State, with an emphasis on expanding services into the most rural and underserved areas.
The over-arching goal of ORCA Behavioral Health is to positively impact the most vulnerable members of the population. The founders of ORCA Behavioral Health firmly believe that the best things in life are the things we give to the ones who need it most.