ANACORTES — The lobby of the Didgʷálič Wellness Center in Anacortes is “buzzing” on an average day.
As clients of the addiction treatment center come in to receive care, Community Relations Director Cheryl Raser said there’s a “lot of laughter, a lot of tears, a lot of hugs.”
And a lot of shared successes, CEO Beverly Keyes said. Clients will come in to show off the first car they’ve owned in a decade, or to tell people they got their kids back, or that they’ve bought a house.
“Or we’ll have somebody who’s just so excited they’ve had two days without using,” Keyes said. “That’s what keeps us coming back. All of those moments, and we hear them every day.”
Since opening in 2017 and expanding in 2021, the Didgʷálič Wellness Center has quickly become a national model for opioid care. An enterprise of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, it’s not just a treatment facility: Clients can access everything they need related to their health under one roof. They can come get their medication, but also see a doctor, get their teeth checked, access mental health care and even get support on writing resumes or finding housing.
“Take 100 steps in the building and they’re in the dental clinic,” Swinomish Development Association Chair Jeremy Wilbur said. “It’s really a blessing to be able to provide that for the clients and just simplifies the whole process.”
In 2025, the Didgʷálič Wellness Center will expand to Bellingham through a partnership with Whatcom County.
Pending county council approving the lease agreement, the Didgʷálič staff will operate a small clinic and mobile medical units to dispense methadone and buprenorphine on Division Street in Bellingham, with transport available from that clinic to the Anacortes location for further services.
The Didgʷálič model has caught the attention of national leaders and tribes. Keyes said the clinic does an “immersion” every year with tribes across the country and teaches them “how to build a Didgʷálič.” Leaders from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Indian Health Service have all toured the facility.
“We’re the gold standard of opioid care in the United States,” Keyes said. “They’ve all come out to see how we do our business and how they can replicate it.”
History of Didgʷálič
Conversations about what would become Didgʷálič started in the mid-2010s, Wilbur said.
“At that point, we had had so many deaths in our community due to the opioid epidemic,” he said. “Our community members, our families were crying to leadership for help, and our leadership came up with the Didgʷálič concept,” Wilbur said.
The Didgʷálič Wellness Center now serves around 500 clients from Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties. Only 30% are Swinomish tribal members. Keyes said some clients come in only every week or every other week, but some come in every day even though they don’t have to. They see the center as a “safe place to go,” Keyes said.
“They’re our family, and we’re going to take care of them,” Outreach Director Leon John said of the clients. “It’s so amazing to see them transform and be productive members of our community.”
Leaders of Didgʷálič said they try to eliminate as many barriers as possible to accessing services.
Can’t transport yourself to appointments? Didgʷálič has 14 buses that make trips to pick up people all over the three-county system.
Have kids, and don’t have child care during your appointment? The wellness center has a day care on the ground floor.
Don’t have insurance, or can’t pay? Staff will help you sign up for insurance, and if not, Didgʷálič covers the cost, Raser said.
For many involved in Didgʷálič, the work they do is personal. John recalled a few weeks back, when he ran into a family member in the lobby who had just hit 120 days of being sober.
Raser’s daughter used heroin for four or five years before Didgʷálič opened, and she ended up going to outpatient treatment. Raser thinks if Didgʷálič had existed then, her daughter would have had success earlier.
“She now works here as a substance use disorder professional and has just made me a grandma,” Raser said. “I look at this place as a place of hope, not for just my family, but for many families who have even younger or adult children who are using opioids.”
The Didgʷálič Wellness Center is located at 8212 S. March Point Road in Anacortes.
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
