SUQUAMISH — As part of the Suquamish Tribe’s efforts to expand its government offices, the tribe recently shifted its personnel again.
The Suquamish Tribe’s wellness program moved its operations to the former tribal courthouse building on Augusta Avenue in downtown Suquamish in early September.
The wellness program had outgrown its former offices, which were adjacent to the Suquamish Youth Center at the corner of Augusta Avenue and Suquamish Way.
The old courthouse building was recently expanded to house the program’s staff and provide meeting space for group sessions.
In August, the courthouse, as well as the Suquamish Police Department, previously located on State Route 305, moved into a new public safety building in place of the old Suquamish Village grocery store. This move freed temporary space for the wellness program at the old courthouse facilities.
The wellness program move and the new courthouse and public safety building are part of the tribal council’s capital facilities plan to upgrade many outdated tribal facilities.
“Moving to a larger and more modern facility will help to better serve our clients and provide better services to the greater community,†said wellness program director Chuck Wagner.
The Suquamish Tribal Council expects the move to be temporary, probably up to two years, as plans proceed to build a new facility for the Marion Forsman-Boushie Early Learning Center. The wellness program would then permanently settle in the space currently occupied by the learning center in the Suquamish Village Square.
The Suquamish Tribe’s wellness program, a state-certified outpatient treatment facility, has provided drug and alcohol counseling services for Suquamish tribal members and non-native clients since 1995 and also provides other limited outpatient behavioral health services, such as mental health counseling and marriage and family counseling for Native Americans and their families.
