A facility is being renovated on Sweetser’s Saco campus to provide intensive clinical care for at-risk young people.
The 8,000-square-foot psychiatric residential treatment facility will provide care for 16 patients who are all under 18 years old.
Currently, 35 other states have youth psychiatric facilities, but this would be a first for Maine.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services reports almost 500 children were on a waitlist for psychiatric treatment as of January 2025, the most recent month of data available.
“It’s a safer place and a more comfortable place than an emergency room or being thousands of miles away from their families,” Sweetser Chief Program Officer Kristie Worster said.
Sweetser’s facility will include free apartments for the families of patients who live far away.
It will also offer a range of therapies and education, including a child psychiatrist, nurses, crisis workers and more with 24/7 care.
Saco City Administrator Ryan Pelletier said this will be an asset to the entire region.
“These facilities serve as a necessary, short-term safe haven and provide essential tools for a successful transition back to daily life,” Pelletier said.
Funding is still needed to complete the renovation.
The project is set to cost about $8 million. The nonprofit already received $2 million from the Legislature back in 2024. Gov. Janet Mills also proposed $3.4 million for the project in her current supplemental budget, pending the appropriations committee’s approval.
Sweetser is in the process of fundraising an additional $2.5 million to complete the project.
“The fact that we have universal support for both the need and the project to happen is a testament to the fact that this is really going to be a game changer for Maine families,” Sweetser Chief Communication Officer Justin Chenette said.
If the funding is secured, the facility is expected to open by the end of this year or early 2027.