Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
AMOR Wellness Center Aims to Make Mendota a Healthier City
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 6 years ago on
August 17, 2019

Share

MENDOTA — Mendota residents who need to see a doctor or specialist now might have to travel 40 miles to the nearest hospital or specialty care clinic, but that’s about to change.
Health care and other social services will be provided in the AMOR Wellness Center, a rural health clinic and neighborhood resource center being built by the Alliance for Medical Outreach & Relief (AMOR).
 


Listen to this article:
 


 
The groundbreaking ceremony Friday morning brought elected officials, Mendota Unified school kids, health care and social service agency representatives, families, and AMOR officials to the center’s site at the corner of Belmont and Derrick avenues.
“This day signifies a fantastic start on this important project,” said Davena Witcher, AMOR’s executive director. “As we move forward, we will be reaching out to more community stakeholders, including west side farmers, for their financial support in completing our efforts.”
The $8 million wellness center and neighborhood resource center will be housed in two buildings totaling 20,000 square feet and will be within walking distance of Mendota’s local library, high school, middle school, and eldercare facility.
Photo of the plans for the AMOR Wellness Clinic in Mendota, CaliforniaaOh
The AMOR Wellness Center will be two buildings housing a health clinic and a neighborhood resource center (GV Wire/Jahz Tello)

Health Care Needed in Evenings and Weekends

In addition to daytime hours, the clinic will be open during evenings and on weekends to accommodate the long workdays of farmworkers and their families. It will be staffed by Madera Community Hospital employees,
“Mendota, like many other rural communities across the county, has never had the medical, social, and youth development services it needs to thrive,” Witcher said. “The AMOR Wellness Center is going to change this dynamic forever, and thanks to our partners, we are building a sustainable model for rural communities that will be duplicated across the country.”

Too Few Doctors

The need for such services is great in Mendota, which has been designated as a “shortage area” for primary care, mental health, and dental health services by the California Office of Statewide Health Planning & Development.
Mayor Robert Silva told GV Wire that residents are looking forward to using services at the wellness center. The project is expected to be completed by July 2020.
“A lot of people are really happy about it,” Silva said.
Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp, who spoke at the groundbreaking as an AMOR board member, said she was reluctant to add another project to her already full schedule when Witcher lobbied her to join the board.

“It’s an incredible asset to the community — something that has never existed here. So it’s wonderful.”State Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Salinas)
But when Witcher told her about the plans to bring health and social services resources to the impoverished westside town, Smittcamp said she remembered one of her early domestic violence cases involving a mother of five who had been badly beaten by her children’s father and who had come to Mendota to be with her family.
Smittcamp said she remembered at the time she wished she could do more for Mendota, which lacked wellness and other support services. As she heard more about the wellness center project, “that young prosecutor from 15 years ago said, ‘This is your chance,’ ” she said.

Rural communities lack resources

State Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) said many rural communities like Mendota lack health and wellness facilities, and those communities pay the price. Caballero said the AMOR Wellness Center will provide much-needed services for parents and children in Mendota.
“It’s an incredible asset to the community — something that has never existed here,” she said. “So it’s wonderful.”

“This is how people live. This is the kind of conditions that exist in Fresno County, in the 21st century. And shame on us for letting that take place.”AMOR founder Darius Assemi
Cabellero noted that the project was the result of a collaboration of public agencies and nonprofits that recognized the great need in Mendota and banded together to take action.
That need was obvious to AMOR founder Darius Assemi, president of Granville Homes and publisher of GV Wire. AMOR had already provided funding and support for a hospital and 10 clinics in Afghanistan when Witcher put two photographs showing communities in dire poverty in front of him. One was in Afghanistan, which Assemi said he recognized, but he was shocked to learn that the other image was of Mendota.
“This is how people live. This is the kind of conditions that exist in Fresno County, in the 21st century,” he said. “And shame on us for letting that take place.”

Not Just Medical Care

The center will house services provided by Marjaree Mason Center, Learn4Life, West Hills Community College, Centro La Familia, and Turning Point of Central California. The project also will include a community garden, outdoor basketball court, developmental playground, and green space.

A construction vehicle stands ready to start work at the AMOR Wellness Center site in Mendota (GV Wire/Jahz Tello)
Jim Yovino, Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, told GV Wire that behavioral and mental health services will be provided at the center through a partnership of his office and the Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health. The county schools office is creating 10 hubs and offices at every school site staffed by clinicians over the next four years, he said. The Mendota office will be one of the 10 hubs.
“If patients at the wellness center need behavioral or mental health services, doctors can immediately refer them to our clinicians,” he said.
The Mendota Wellness Center is the first project in the U.S. for AMOR, a nonprofit created to provide resources and services to families of minority culture and heritage.


DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Webb, Flores Come Up Big as Giants Clip Brewers

DON'T MISS

Israeli Fire Kills at Least 44 People in Gaza, Hits a Police Station

DON'T MISS

Juvenile Dies After Shooting Outside Clovis Restaurant

DON'T MISS

Trump Tells Putin to ‘STOP’ After Russian Attacks Kills 10 in Kyiv

DON'T MISS

Given Its Failures, Can California Manage a Transition to a Carbon-Free Future?

DON'T MISS

Fresno Trustees Choose District Insider Misty Her for New Superintendent

DON'T MISS

Fresno Students Celebrate Earth Day by Planting 5 Valley Oaks

DON'T MISS

Five Arrested in Fresno County Robbery Spree. Some Linked to Venezuelan Gang

DON'T MISS

US Brings First Terrorism Charges Against Alleged Venezuelan Gang Member

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Immigrants Shouldn’t Get Trials Before Deportation

UP NEXT

Five Arrested in Fresno County Robbery Spree. Some Linked to Venezuelan Gang

UP NEXT

Artfully Staged for Takeoff: Fresno Airport Expansion Nears Finish

UP NEXT

Newsom Seeks Help for Struggling Oil Refiners

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Directs Investigations Over Gender-Affirming Care

UP NEXT

Get Ready for a Weather Rollercoaster. When Will Fresno See Its First 90-Degree Day?

UP NEXT

Wired Wednesday: What’s the Future of Fresno Unified and the Superintendent Position?

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Cancels Hundreds of Grants for Police, Crime Victims

UP NEXT

How Do High Schoolers Really Fare After Graduation? A New California Tool Lets You Know

UP NEXT

Fresno Mayor Says AB 942 Anti-Solar Bill Poses ‘Significant Threat’ to City, Residents

UP NEXT

Yelich’s 5th Career Slam and Bauers’ 2-Run Homer Power the Brewers to Win Over the Giants

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Trump Tells Putin to ‘STOP’ After Russian Attacks Kills 10 in Kyiv

18 minutes ago

Given Its Failures, Can California Manage a Transition to a Carbon-Free Future?

59 minutes ago

Fresno Trustees Choose District Insider Misty Her for New Superintendent

14 hours ago

Fresno Students Celebrate Earth Day by Planting 5 Valley Oaks

16 hours ago

Five Arrested in Fresno County Robbery Spree. Some Linked to Venezuelan Gang

16 hours ago

US Brings First Terrorism Charges Against Alleged Venezuelan Gang Member

17 hours ago

Trump Says Immigrants Shouldn’t Get Trials Before Deportation

17 hours ago

Artfully Staged for Takeoff: Fresno Airport Expansion Nears Finish

18 hours ago

Chipotle Tempers Annual Sales Forecast as Dining-out Takes a Hit

18 hours ago

Orders to Leave the Country — Some for US Citizens — Sow Confusion Among Immigrants

18 hours ago

Webb, Flores Come Up Big as Giants Clip Brewers

SAN FRANCISCO — Wilmer Flores hit a two-run single in the sixth inning to back another strong start by Giants ace Logan Webb, and San Franci...

6 minutes ago

6 minutes ago

Webb, Flores Come Up Big as Giants Clip Brewers

Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, April 14, 2025. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
9 minutes ago

Israeli Fire Kills at Least 44 People in Gaza, Hits a Police Station

14 minutes ago

Juvenile Dies After Shooting Outside Clovis Restaurant

President Donald Trump looks on, as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 23, 2025. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
18 minutes ago

Trump Tells Putin to ‘STOP’ After Russian Attacks Kills 10 in Kyiv

59 minutes ago

Given Its Failures, Can California Manage a Transition to a Carbon-Free Future?

14 hours ago

Fresno Trustees Choose District Insider Misty Her for New Superintendent

16 hours ago

Fresno Students Celebrate Earth Day by Planting 5 Valley Oaks

From left to right: Anderson Vega Laya, 31; Helan Lopez Sanchez, 29; Aaron Sojo Moreno, 25; Yan Garcia-Heredia, 22; and Albert Hinegues, 19, some linked to a violent Venezuelan gang, have been arrested in connection with a series of armed robberies across Fresno County during the summer of 2024. (Fresno County SO)
16 hours ago

Five Arrested in Fresno County Robbery Spree. Some Linked to Venezuelan Gang

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend