On April 16, New Narrative East Service Center opened its doors to the community. The center, which has been years in the making, welcomed guests to explore the different programs on site and hear from community leaders about the importance of service hubs like this one.
New Narrative East centers many New Narrative programs in one prime site on the corner of NE Halsey Street and 122nd Avenue in east Portland, in order to provide mental health treatment, peer support from people with lived experience, case management, and connections to housing, employment, and community-based resources in one accessible location
CEO Julie Ibrahim emphasized the traditional issues with a fragmented behavioral health system. During her remarks, she said, “For a long time, our system has asked people to navigate complexity at the exact moment they are least able to do so. Long wait times. Fragmented services. Multiple entry points that do not connect. We have all seen how that leads to delays, missed opportunities, and people falling through the cracks.”
She continued, “New Narrative East is our response to that.”
This center is the first of its kind for the agency, and marks a response to the need for quality customer care and service.
This effort is in large part thanks to support from CareOregon, and their leadership and pledge to new models of care through the Strategic Healthcare Investment for Transformation (also known as the SHIFT initiative).
Bonnie Holdahl, the Director of Behavioral Health at CareOregon, observed, “Over the years that I’ve been working with New Narrative, they have really stood out as an organization that offers dignity, hope, inspiration, innovation…a place where people are really seen.”
CareOregon's Bonnie Holdahl speaks to guests
For people seeking support, New Narrative East offers a clear entry point to a wide range of services.
Participants may access outpatient mental health treatment, peer support from people with lived experience, case management, and connections to housing, employment, and community-based resources. Rather than navigating multiple systems on their own, individuals can work with a coordinated team that helps them understand what services are available and how those supports can fit together to meet their goals.
At the heart of the New Narrative East is New Narrative’s commitment to respect and dignity. From the first point of contact, participants are met with kindness, choice, and transparency. Services are designed to honor each person’s autonomy and lived experience, creating an environment that feels welcoming rather than clinical, and supportive rather than transactional. Excellence, for New Narrative, means not only providing effective services, but also ensuring that every interaction reinforces a person’s sense of worth and possibility.
