Wave Staff Report
NORWALK — Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 1336 into law, approving a measure to help develop a mental healthcare village on the campus of Metropolitan State Hospital.
Authored by state Sen. Bob Archuleta, D-Norwalk, and championed by county Supervisor Janice Hahn, SB 1336 will allow the county to use vacant buildings on the state hospital campus to develop a mental healthcare village to provide housing and treatment to individuals struggling with mental illness.
“We are battling a mental health crisis, and we desperately need places where we can treat and house people who are struggling,” Hahn said. “These buildings are doing no one any good sitting empty. I thank Governor Newsom for signing this legislation so we can start doing the hard work converting this small corner of state property into the Los Angeles County Care Community — a facility where we can provide humane, professional treatment to people who desperately need it.”
“Over the past decade, California has borne witness to a mental health crisis that has left many of our neighbors with mental illness homeless and on the street,” Archuleta said. “SB 1336 is a major step forward for the region by getting people the resources they need and off the street and into housing. A big thank you to Supervisor Janice Hahn and the L.A. County Department of Mental Health for working alongside me to ensure our region has the capacity to help meet the needs of people with mental illness now and in the future.”
SB 1336 authorizes the director of the state Department of General Services to lease seven buildings that are currently unused at Metropolitan State Hospital to a nonprofit or local government for the purposes of providing housing and/or treatment to people with behavioral health needs.
The Metropolitan State Hospital is a state-run public hospital specializing in psychiatric care. The 826-bed hospital is operated by the Department of State Hospitals and has an open campus within a security perimeter on 162 acres of state property.
Currently, the hospital admits patients in four different categories: incompetent to stand trial, offender with mental health disorder, not guilty by reason of insanity, and conservatorship under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act.
Under the leadership of Hahn, Los Angeles County is seeking to renovate the buildings to develop a new mental health community campus that will serve adults and transitional age youth with varying mental health and housing needs. In June, the state and county entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement regarding the leasing of the seven buildings.
The Los Angeles County Care Community will include a series of facilities offering diverse treatment and housing options for people with mental health challenges to be overseen by the county Department of Mental Health. The seven buildings were identified through a collaborative effort between the county and state.
To create this Care Community, the county will use various grant programs and funding provided by the state as part of the state’s response to the homelessness and mental health crisis.
“This is the kind of project that Governor Newsom advocated for under Proposition 1,” Hahn said. “I want the county and the state to work together, hand-in-hand, to get this done and get people who are suffering on the street the help and treatment they need.”
SB 1336 and the mental health campus proposal comes in response to the growing concerns over the state’s mental health and homelessness crises. It is clear the state and county need more facilities and housing options for individuals with mental health challenges.
The Los Angeles County Care Community is an example of the county and state collaborating to identify government property that can be converted into housing while providing access to essential services.
“For the past several years, I have worked with state agencies, departments, and local government to identify underutilized state-owned buildings at Metropolitan State Hospital to repurpose them to provide care, resources, and housing for people who need treatment,”Archuleta said. “The collaboration between the state and local government helps meet an urgent public need and addresses the significant and growing need for mental health services in our region and state, but it also ensures that state assets are utilized effectively for the public good.”
