The Basics
Luke-Dorf is a Portland, Oregon-area non-profit organization that has been providing mental health services since 1977. Founded by Pastor Ed Sandvig and his wife Dorothy, the couple were inspired to create services for the mentally ill after watching a close friend receive substandard care at the city’s existing facilities. Luke-Dorf calls itself a “healing community,” and takes its name from St. Luke, the healer, and “dorf,” the German word for village.
While most of its programs are tailored for clients with a primary diagnosis of mental illness, Luke-Dorf also operates a men’s residential facility—Bridge City—which provides services for those with co-occurring disorders. Most residents have been through the Department of Correction’s Mentally Ill Offender Unit.
Accommodations and Food
Bridge City is located in a leafy residential neighborhood in Portland, near Mt. Tabor City Park. The residence usually treats around 10 men at a time and all clients are accommodated in private rooms. The facility has a weight room and common area for TV and recreation. Cell phones are not permitted, but residents can earn privileges to use the house phones.
Meals are prepared by both a kitchen staff and the residents, who are taught cooking and meal-planning as part of their life skills curriculum.
Treatment and Staff
Residents stay at Bridge City anywhere from six to 18 months. Each treatment plan is highly individualized and includes daily group and individual therapy as well as life skills training. Many clients have mental health diagnoses that might make consistent employment challenging, so clinicians also teach the men how to access other community services for medical and on-going support for daily living.
The treatment team includes Master’s-level therapists including LPCs and CSWs as well as addiction counselors with the CADC credential. A staff nurse visits several times each week and residential and peer support counselors are on-site as well. Clients are encouraged to attend nearby 12-step meetings and their peer counselors also use the 12-step framework.
Therapy uses Motivational Interviewing (MI) and life skills training includes teaching residents how to use the local bus system as well as household tasks and communication skills.
Extras
As clients near the end of their treatment plan, some are given referrals to other agencies for vocational training. Those who wish to continue their substance abuse treatment receive referrals to local outpatient programs that provide dual diagnosis support. Luke-Dorf plans to open a residential facility for women with co-occurring disorders later this year.
In Summary
Luke-Dorf has been providing the residents of Portland, Oregon with extensive mental health services for over 40 years. Its Bridge City men’s residential program offers men with substance abuse and significant mental health diagnoses a chance to learn how to navigate recovery and improve their life skills as they transition back into the community following release from incarceration.
Luke-Dorf: Bridge City
2521 SE 75th Ave
Portland, OR 97206
Luke-Dorf Bridge City Cost: Fees paid by local and state agencies. Reach Luke-Dorf by phone at (503) 726-3690. Find Luke-Dorf on Facebook
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Photo courtesy of M.O. Stevens (Own work) [GFDL (https://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons (resized and cropped)
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