Arch Collaborative CEO talks to supporters
Arch Collaborative CEO Kimberly Johnson speaks to supporters of the behavioral campus before the Oct. 28, 2025, Shasta supervisors meeting.
- Despite the board’s 3-2 vote against the project, the proposal for the True North Campus was submitted for state funding.
- The $200 million facility would be funded by a private company and a state grant, not county funds.
- Supporters say the campus is needed to address the county’s high suicide rate and keep mental health patients local.
Nearly 100 people showed up in front of the Shasta County Administration building before Tuesday evening supervisors’ meeting to protest the county’s lack of support for a regional behavioral medical campus that they say is much needed in the community.
The Oct. 28 protest came four days after a narrow majority of supervisors voted 3-2 to support a letter of opposition to the True North Campus at a special meeting Friday, Oct. 24.
Many of the signs displayed during the protest called out Board of Supervisors Chair Kevin Crye, who led the effort to stop the campus from being built in Shasta County. At the special meeting, Crye vowed to “kill” the project now, calling it “evil.”
Supervisors Chris Kelstrom and Corkey Harmon also sided with Crye at the Oct. 24 meeting.
“Kevin Crye is a bully and unfit to be a County Supervisor” were among the signs displayed.
Supervisors Allen Long and Matt Plummer support the campus.
Long came out to speak with protesters about 10 minutes before the start of the meeting.
The board’s action briefly threw the project into limbo. Signature Healthcare Services Chief Operating Officer Alan Eaks said following the vote he did not know if the company would still submit the proposal for state Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program funds for the $200 million project.
Arch Collaborative CEO Kimberly Johnson, whose nonprofit is working with Signature Healthcare Services to build the campus, addressed supporters.
“I can confirm that as of about half an hour ago, we submitted the proposal for the True North Behavioral Campus,” Johnson said as the gathering applauded and cheered the announcement. “So I am incredibly grateful. Signature Healthcare was on Zoom. They pressed submit, we got to watch. There’s glitter all over my office. It was a good moment.”
The state is expected to make its decision on the grant money next spring.
Johnson talked about the years of work that her “team” has done to get to this moment.
“I am not here for a political reason. … Mental health should not be something that is political. I am here simply because I think it is so critically important to allow me the opportunity to just say thank you, not only to all of you but also to our community as a whole who has continued to support this effort,” Johnson said.
Eaks of Signature Healthcare has said the company would be the sole applicant. Signature Healthcare also would put up the $50 million that would be matched by $150 million in state Behavioral health Continuum Infrastructure Program funds for a $200 million project.
“We are fully responsible for the application and the financial responsibility that comes behind it,” Eaks has said.
According to Arch Collaborative, the campus will have 72 beds and 32 chairs and include crisis stabilization units, a social rehabilitation facility, inpatient psychiatric units, a high-acuity youth residential unit, and a partial hospitalization/intensive outpatient program.
Supporters include several high-ranking Shasta County officials, such as Sheriff Michael Johnson, District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett and Office of Education Superintendent of Schools Mike Freeman. Other leaders include Redding Police Chief Brian Barner, Modoc County Sheriff Tex Gowdy, Redding City Councilman and North Valley Medical Association President Dr. Paul Dhunuka, Shasta Community Hospital CEO Brandon Thornock, Good News Rescue Mission Executive Director Jonathan Anderson, and State Sen. Megan Dahle.
Some supporters have talked about the pain family members endure when they have to send a loved one out of Shasta County for mental health treatment. They said the True North Campus will allow patients to stay here for mental health care.
“I’m sick and tired of Crye of making decisions without listening to his constituents and to the experts who know things,” Shasta County resident Sandi Thompson said outside the county administration building before the Oct. 28 meeting.
Thompson said she supports the True North Campus because of the mental health problems that plague Shasta County.
County Health and Human Services Agency officials in March noted that Shasta’s suicide rate of 25.2 suicides per 100,000 residents is more than double the state average of 10.3 suicides per 100,000 people.
David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly “Buzz on the Street” column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.