In two short weeks, construction will begin on the new Karuk Family Services Center in Happy Camp, CA! The Karuk Tribe is building the center to provide services that include behavioral health, emergency and low income assistance and other social services programs for families.
“The Family Services Center will increase the tribe’s capacity to help local families achieve social and economic self-sufficiency and build resilience among local youth,” said Emma Lee Perez, Karuk Tribe project manager. “The Family Services Center will allow for behavioral health and other family services to be in close proximity to one another, ultimately improving outcomes for families.”
Overcrowding is a problem at current facilities, and the nearest hospital is two hours away. Once complete, the 4,800-squre-foot Karuk Family Services Center will be a great resource for tribal members. The center will include offices, conference rooms, storage, waiting rooms and support areas for staff.
A portion of the funding for the project is provided by the Karuk Tribe’s $605,000 grant through the Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) in 2016. The ICDBG program is very competitive and provides direct grants for developing and creating decent and affordable housing and economic opportunities for low and moderate income populations in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. (Read the 2016 ICDBG awards announcement and learn more about another ICDBG project that Travois was involved with.)
As architect for the project, I’ve been working hard with the team finalizing the plans and design for the building. The Travois Design team has had many new opportunities that have allowed us to take on several new project types like this one.
We are excited to be working on community centers, housing authority offices, health service facilities and master planning, in addition to being able to participate in great project teams continuing to build affordable housing.
Black Wolf Construction, a Native-owned construction company, is the contractor for the project and partnered with Travois as part of a design-build effort.
With construction only a few weeks away, Hans Dahl, member of Black Wolf Construction, said: “We are looking forward to breaking ground soon on the new family services building. The project is going to be exciting and a lot of fun — can’t wait to see progress!”
Ground breaking is so close, and we’re all excited to see this project come together!
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