Healing Center at Salmon Falls
Image provided by:
North Creative Design
The Healing Center at Salmon Falls is a proposed Tribally led wellness and residential treatment campus designed to address urgent substance misuse and behavioral health needs in Southeast Alaska, while being a responsible and respectful neighbor to the surrounding community.
Image provided by:
North Creative Design
Across Southeast Alaska, individuals and families face limited access to residential treatment for substance misuse and behavioral health. Many people must leave the region, often far from family, culture, and support systems, to receive care. This distance can make recovery more difficult and deepen hardship.
The Healing Center at Salmon Falls is designed to provide high-quality, culturally grounded care closer to home, strengthening individual healing and community well-being.
The Healing Center at Salmon Falls will be a structured residential treatment facility focused on healing, stability, and long-term recovery.
Key features include:
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Residential treatment in a supervised, supportive environment
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Evidence-based behavioral health services
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Cultural and educational programming
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Life skills and vocational training opportunities
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Integration of cultural values and community connection
Residents will participate in structured daily programming and receive care from trained health care and behavioral health professionals.
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We want to be clear about what the facility will not be:
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The Healing Center is not a standalone detox facility. Any detox-related services, if offered, would be part of a broader continuum of care within a comprehensive healing and recovery model.
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It is not an emergency shelter or drop-in center.
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It is not an unsupervised or open campus.
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It is not a high-volume commercial operation.
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Safety and Supervision
The facility would be staffed 24/7 by trained professionals. Residents would follow structured schedules and clear expectations, with supervision at all times.
Scale and Activity
The Healing Center is designed to serve a limited number of residents, with consistent staffing and predictable activity. Unlike a seasonal resort with frequent guest turnover, residents typically remain for extended periods.
Emergency Services and Coordination
The Healing Center will coordinate with local emergency responders and follow established protocols to minimize impacts on community services.
Property and Neighborhood Stewardship
We are committed to maintaining the property to high standards and being a respectful, accountable presence in the neighborhood.The property is currently zoned Future Development, which allows a treatment facility through a conditional use permit. We are seeking General Commercial zoning to allow the full and appropriate use of the property. The Healing Center is only one component of a broader vision for the site, which is designed to support healing, culture, workforce development, and community connection.
Our plans include pathways back to work through workforce training programs, opportunities to generate sustainable revenue through cultural and culinary enterprises, and spaces where neighboring Tribes and the wider community can gather. This vision reflects our commitment to integrating culture, health care, and economic opportunity in a single, holistic campus.
We want this property to be used to its fullest potential in service of our community. The current Future Development zoning does not allow for many of these uses. Prior to changes in the Borough code in 2023, several of these uses were permitted. By requesting General Commercial zoning, we are seeking the flexibility to thoughtfully develop the property over time in ways that best support community needs and long-term well-being. Recovery is not just clinical — it is cultural, social, and economic.
Ketchikan Indian Community Land Acknowledgement
The lands and waters that surround us are not separate from who we are — they are a living part of our identity, history, and responsibility. Our ancestors’ names are carried in these places. As Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian peoples, we belong to this land, and we have since time immemorial.
These lands hold the stories, teachings, and lifeways of our ancestors, and they continue to sustain our people today. With that connection comes a responsibility to protect, honor, and care for the land and the people of these places, now and for generations to come.
Ketchikan Indian Community respectfully acknowledges that our campus is located on Tlingit Aaní, the ancestral and unceded homelands of the Taanta Kwaan, specifically the Ganax̱ádi Clan. We honor and give thanks to the Elders —past and present — who have stewarded this land, upheld cultural knowledge, and carried our people forward. We also recognize the generations yet to come, who will inherit this land and our shared responsibility to care for it. Haw’aa.