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Our History of Help

1957

Early efforts to offer mental health services to Huron and the surrounding communities began in 1957 when a team of four mental health professionals from the Yankton State Hospital came to Huron once every 2 months to provide follow-up care for people who had recently been discharged from the state hospital. They worked out of the men’s locker room at the Huron Arena.

1960

Late in 1959 a group of interested citizens from Huron began meeting informally to discuss organizing a community mental health center. Articles of Incorporation establishing the “Central South Dakota Mental Health Center” were filed on March 25, 1960 and the doors of the center were opened on September 26, 1960 in a suite of offices in the Standard Oil Building at 317 Iowa SE with Frank Tikalsky, clinical psychologist, as its first Executive Director and Jeannine Hittle as secretary/receptionist. The agency was incorporated in the state of South Dakota on April 11, 1960.

1962

In 1962 John Larson, MD, psychiatrist was hired as the second Executive Director. Dr. Larson received national acclaim prior to joining the center and had been written up in LIFE magazine for his invention of the polygraph (lie detector).

1963

Carlos Mendoza, MD (1963-65) was the agency’s third Executive Director. Under Dr. Mendoza’s administration, an inpatient psychiatric unit at St. John’s Hospital became a reality allowing mentally ill patients to be hospitalized locally.

1965

When Dr. Mendoza resigned in 1965, William McManus, a clinical psychologist on staff, became the agency’s fourth Executive Director. Under McManus the orientation of services changed from a medical model to a guidance and resource model. In 1966 the center relocated to the IMI Building on Third Street SW. When McManus resigned in 1968 to return to graduate school the Board struggled to hold the center together without a director as they lobbied for
funding and recruited new staff.

1968

At the request of the Board of Directors, Tyra Talley, a well-respected pastor/counselor in Miller, accepted the position as the agency’s fifth Executive Director. In 1970, the center was approached by the Huron Public School District with the idea of starting a pilot program to
counsel students in the schools. In the fall the program was initiated in two elementary schools and the agency has maintained a continuous relationship with the school district to the present
time. In 1972 the Board and staff worked with a group of local citizens interested in starting a group home/treatment center for troubled adolescents. This project became a reality when the doors to Our Home, Inc. were opened in January 1973.

1973

Ben Peters, Ph.D. was hired in 1973 as the agency’s sixth Executive Director. The center became an accredited community mental health center in 1974.

1975

The name of the center was changed from Central South Dakota Mental Health Center to Community Counseling Services in January 1975. Paul Felix, MSW was appointed as the agency’s seventh Executive Director in August 1975, and he hired the agency’s first alcohol counselor in the spring of 1976. In November 1976 CCS moved to 1552 Dakota Avenue South with the first purchase of property to house the agency. In 1978, Community Counseling
Services became one of ten centers nationally funded, and one of two rural centers locally funded, to pilot a Community Support Program to assist in deinstitutionalizing state hospital patients. A transitional living facility was opened in the old convent at 475 Iowa SE. Under the direction of the late Ella Bradfield, RN and Frank Dame, Ph.D., the program became a showpiece for the State of South Dakota in demonstrating how to transition people hospitalized
back into their home community.

1978

Val Farmer, Ph.D. became the eighth Executive Director of CCS in the fall of 1978. With the opening of the Community Support Center and the addition of outpatient programming the agency experienced a phenomenal growth doubling in size within a one-year period. The year 1981 was a difficult year for many area farm families due to changes in federal monetary farm policies. CCS developed specialized mental health services to reach out to suffering farm families. Dr. Farmer resigned his position with the agency to pursue his passion for working with rural families.

1982

In July 1982 Duane Majeres, MS was promoted to the position of the agency’s ninth Executive Director with instructions from the Board to tighten the organization structure of the agency, pulling the three clinical units of Outpatient Mental Health, Alcohol and Drug treatment, and the Community Support Center into a working whole. In 1983 CCS initiated a structured outpatient chemical dependency treatment program providing Huron area residents with an alternative to traditional inpatient treatment. In 1986 CCS briefly partnered with Huron Regional Medical Center to establish a crisis room in the hospital for the short-term treatment and stabilization of area residents suffering an acute mental illness episode. In 1988 the Board of Directors signed an FmHA loan to purchase and rehab the Standard Oil Building, naming it the Bradfield-Leary Center. In June 1989 the Lake County Commission voted to change their support of mental health services for the county from Sioux Falls to Community Counseling Services. In 1990 Madison staff moved into the vacant clinic building at 915 NE Third and the agency purchased the building later that year. The Moody County Commission voted to identify CCS as the mental health and alcohol/drug treatment provider for the county in 1993 and a small clinic building was purchased in Flandreau. In 2005 CCS purchased an electronic health record system and by 2007 the agency was paperless for all business and clinical recordkeeping. In 2006 CCS briefly contracted with Horizon Health to provide psychiatric tele-psych services to rural health clinics and in 2008 CCS installed videoconferencing between Huron and Madison. The IMPACT Program started in 2001 to more effectively help the severely mentally ill and prevent further psychiatric hospitalizations. In 2004 CCS moved its corporate/outpatient offices to 357 Kansas SE. In July 2007 the Kingsbury County Commission requested that CCS be the provider of behavioral health services for the residents of the county. In 2010, CCS celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Huron-based organization, and the 20th Anniversary of the Madison-based office with 66 employees; an annual budget of $4.5 million; provides behavioral health services to 3300 people annually in the seven-county area of Beadle, Hand, Kingsbury, Jerauld, Lake, Miner and Moody counties. In 2011, Community Counseling Services expanded their Flandreau office by remodeling a building at 218 2nd Street in
Flandreau. In June of 2011, Duane Majeres retired and appointed Deputy Director, S.E. Nills, to serve as the agency’s tenth Executive Director.

2014

On April 22, 2014, the Board of Directors appointed Belinda Nelson, Licensed Addiction Counselor and acting Policy & Procedure Officer as Interim Executive Director.  Nelson had been with the agency since 1998, serving primarily as a Clinical Supervisor and then the Clinical Director for the addiction programs.  In 2011, Nelson accepted the role as the agency’s Policy & Procedure Officer.  In August 2014, the CCS Board of Directors announced the selection of Belinda Nelson, LAC, as its eleventh Chief Executive Officer, and its first female administrator.  In 2018, CCS was the recipient of the “Empowering SHE” award for the way the agency has begun providing employment opportunities and workplace advancements for women.  In 2020, CCS acquired the building located at 88 3rd Street SE, renaming it, “Behavioral Health Medicine & Admin Offices” making this the fourth CCS location in Huron.  It houses the administration offices and Psych Services and our tele-psychiatry offices.  In 2021, CCS partnered with Genoa Healthcare to bring a behavioral pharmacy to the 88 3rd St location.  This pharmacy is open to all CCS clients, employees, and affiliates:  https://www.genoahealthcare.com/about/   Also in 2020,  COVID-19 had become a worldwide pandemic.  On March 23, 2020, all non-IMPACT CCS employees began sheltering in place while learning how to provide behavioral health services remotely from home.  CCS began providing billable telehealth and audio services to our clients and families.  An Executive Proclamation was made by Nelson on 05/27/2020 deeming that day as “IMPACT Services Day.”  The IMPACT Team was recognized as Essential Service employees because they provided 24/7 mental health services to their clientele during the time of quarantine and sheltering in place.  This day is celebrated every May 27th recognizing the value and accomplishments the IMPACT employees provided as first responders. In July 2022, CCS paid off the 357 Kansas SE building.

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