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access to behavioral health care with measurable increases in utilization of mental health <br />services for BCBS NC’s 4 million members. She was honored to be named a Distinguished <br />Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association in 2024. <br /> <br />While leading behavioral health services at Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Dr. Dennis noticed the <br />profound lack of intermediate care services across North Carolina. This level of care supports <br />individuals who have just been discharged from the hospital to improve their odds of success in <br />life after diagnosis with a severe mental illness. She had a dream one night of holistic, intensive <br />mental health services offered in a farm-based setting. At that time, she had been offered a <br />large sum of money should she remain in her current role for another three years, part of a <br />corporate employee retention program. Dr. Dennis chose to leave BCBS and found Jubilee <br />instead, giving her professional energy to create a new, holistic model of clinical care to support <br />the thriving of fellow citizens in Orange County. Notably, Jubilee has provided seven jobs in <br />Orange County thus far, as well as offering a space of safety and healing for Orange County <br />residents. Jubilee has provided peer support specialist training for two employees, allowing <br />them to increase their earnings by almost 40% per hour. <br /> <br />Sustainability and Longevity <br />Jubilee is designed to be a longstanding, holistic mental health care center that is life-enhancing <br />for this community. Dr. Dennis’s parents and 100-year-old grandmother live and own land <br />locally, her children attend school in Orange County, and she is fully committed to this land and <br />this community. Jubilee is a labor of love whose apotheosis would entail the farm component <br />providing intergenerational healing space and our clinical program working over decades to <br />bring thousands back from the isolation and despair of severe mental illness to meaningful life in <br />community with others. The special use permit and subsequent facility licensure will allow this to <br />be possible as our long-term financial viability is dependent upon facility-based contracting with <br />insurers. We would be profoundly grateful for the Orange County Board of Adjustment’s support <br />of our vision for this land. <br /> <br />40