Mental health care in Portsmouth where no one is turned away
Leaders from Portsmouth Economic Development and Life’s Journey LLC will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 11 at 11:00 a.m. at the new Life’s Journey building, located at 3300 High Street, Ste 6, in Portsmouth. The program is open to the media.
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Tucked behind a commercial building in the 3300 block of High Street, a fuchsia awning awaits to welcome many who have more than a mental health diagnosis, but rather, face a constellation of issues.
“Everything from food instabilities to housing instabilities and struggles with mental health come hand-in-hand with those concerns,” said Shante Williams, chief operating officer of Life’s Journey Mental Health Service Agency one week before the opening of the agency’s third location.
The Life’s Journey Mental Health Service Agency has offices in Norfolk and Hampton; its first Portsmouth location is due to open Monday, Aug. 14.
Inside the fully restored 1960s-era building, patients will see artwork that reflects the agency’s journey to restore a village.
“We are sending a message that we respect and appreciate our culture,” said Williams as she seemed to glide along the floors of the 5,000-square-foot building while sporting white and fuchsia colors.
In a conference room, one wall is decorated with several black and white photos that tell the stories of Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and others.