By John Burton
FREEHOLD – “Our work is not done,” Donald C. Glaser, CPC Behavioral Healthcare’s board of trustees chair, said with the opening of the doors and the cutting of the ribbon for the organization’s new Freehold facility.
The demand for the services the organization provides continues to grow, he said.
CPC held the grand opening Friday, Sept. 12, of its new and recently renovated 22 Court St. facility, which will offer mental health and addiction recovery services, such as outpatient counseling for children and adults and case management services for adults with serious mental illnesses, regardless of insurance status or the client’s ability to pay.
“We need more places like this,” said keynote speaker Diane Gooch of the work that CPC has been doing for more than 50 years in Monmouth County.
The work that will be done at the facility is vital for so many – especially for those struggling without resources and dealing with the stigma that can come with these afflictions, she said.
“Mental health issues should be treated like any other medical condition,” Gooch said.
Gooch is the former co-owner and publisher of ***ITAL**The Two River Times***END** and now is a principal in the Washington, D.C.-based Talk Radio News Service. She currently co-hosts “Radio Lifeboat with DG and Mickey Gooch,” a weekly Internet radio talk show where she and her son, Mickey, interview guests and discuss issues involving addiction and recovery.
Gooch said she has battled depression. Her therapists, “they saved my life,” she said.
She and her family also have been dealing with her son’s addition and recovery.
Facilities such as these “give people the opportunity to have the life they deserve to have,” she said.
CPC Behavioral acquired the 5,000 square-foot building from Monmouth County, which previously was used for the Office of Aging and Veterans Affairs.
The organization had been using the county-owned 37 Court St. building since the 1960s with the county leasing it for $1 a year until county officials decided to sell the site, according to John Mans, CPC’s president and chief executive officer.
The Freehold facility has traditionally addressed the outpatient needs of about 2,000 clients a year. In total, the organization sees 8,000 clients annually at this and its Aberdeen and Red Bank/Middletown facilities.
In addition, CPC Behavioral operates the High Point special education school in, Morganville, which has 200 students.
“The need is growing,” Mans said. “There are more people coming in and seeking services.”
