The Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics (SBNC) will celebrate the completion of the Goleta Neighborhood Clinic Expansion Project, which includes a dedicated behavioral health center, pediatric rooms, a community education/conference room, and clinic-wide call center.

The expansion means the Goleta Neighborhood Clinic will give health access to more than 7, 000 low-income, underserved children, adults and seniors.

The public can tour the new facilities and meet the staff at 5580 Calle Real, noon-1:30 p.m., March 8. Goleta Mayor Pro Tempore Stuart Kasdin will give the keynote address before the ribbon cutting at 12:30 p.m.

Dr. Charles Fenzi will also recognize the contribution of Michael and Anne Towbes.

The behavioral health center will include space for a psychiatrist and counseling services, and will house services for the Santa Barbara Resiliency Project.

“There is a huge need for behavioral health services in our community and SBNC is so proud to be able to meet this need,” said Dr. Charles Fenzi CEO/CMO of Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics

“The Goleta expansion represents our final phase of growth in Goleta, where we have served over 13,000 people since the opening of our new clinics,” he said.

Dr. Andria Ruth serves as lead clinician at Goleta Neighborhood Clinic and medical director for the Santa Barbara Resiliency Project, a collaborative of multiple organizations designed to reduce adverse childhood experiences.

The partnership is being piloted in Goleta, where pediatric patients and their parents are screened for adverse childhood experiences and receive support services to help mitigate disease later in life.

More than $1 million in federal funding from the Health Resources Services Administration, plus the support of Michael and Anne Towbes, the Mosher Foundation, the Alice Tweed Touhy Foundation, and Cottage Health made the expansion possible.

Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics is an independent, nonprofit, community health center dedicated to providing high quality, comprehensive, affordable healthcare to all people.

SBNC is comprised of two dental clinics, four medical clinics, and offers behavioral health services that serve some 21,000 people in the community.

— Angelina Macias for Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics.