Clubhouse El Dorado, a Placerville mental health facility, will stay open through at least June 2027. The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 22, to send the facility up to $300,000 in emergency funding.

The board approved the one-time contingency allocation after community members testified at the hearing, Village Life first reported. Without the county money, NAMI El Dorado County Treasurer Bob Landry told supervisors the Clubhouse would have had to close in January 2027.

The facility, operated by NAMI El Dorado County, lost a key revenue stream when state Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) funding became unavailable. The county's MHSA-funded contract with NAMI expired June 30. That contract had covered about $25,000 of the Clubhouse's roughly $44,000 monthly operating costs.

"Even with a very lean staffing structure, our operating costs average about $44,000 per month," Landry told the board. "The MHSA contract covered approximately $25,000 of that, leaving us to raise the balance from the community."

Landry said the organization has worked aggressively to fill the gap. A spring gala raised more than $90,000. NAMI also added fall fundraising events, cut costs and negotiated concessions from vendors and its landlord.

Clubhouse Executive Director Yann Bennis said he has meetings scheduled with Marshall and El Dorado Community Health Centers to explore additional financial help. NAMI also has a pending Medi-Cal application seeking revenue through managed care plans with Anthem and Mountain Valley Health Plan. If both applications are accepted, Bennis said, revenue could arrive within about six months.

Clubhouse member Ryan Kreps urged the board to act, saying the facility connects members to community resources and gives them a place to turn.

The vote was unanimous. District 3 Supervisor Brian Veerkamp made the motion to approve the funding. District 2 Supervisor George Turnboo seconded it, and District 1 Supervisor Greg Ferrero voiced support, calling the Clubhouse "a valuable resource for the community."

The $300,000 is bridge funding drawn from contingency. County staff must return to the board by the end of 2026 with an update on the Clubhouse's long-term funding plan. The board is scheduled to adopt the full 2026-27 budget at its Tuesday, Sept. 29, meeting at 9 a.m. at South Lake Tahoe City Hall.