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Photo Credit: Martin Zamora<\/p>\n
NORWALK, CA<\/strong> (March 6, 2026)<\/strong>\u2014 Today, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, State Senator Bob Archuleta, and county and state leaders broke ground on a landmark project that will transform long-vacant buildings on the campus of Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk into a first-of-its-kind mental health treatment and housing village. The LA County Care Community will deliver multiple levels of care in one secure, professionally operated setting for people experiencing serious mental illness and homelessness.<\/p>\n \u201cVoters want us to take vacant buildings and put them to good use,\u201d said\u00a0Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn<\/strong>, who proposed and championed the LA County Care Community. \u201cThese buildings are doing no one any good sitting empty. At the same time, we have residents — many of them young people — who are struggling with serious mental illness and have no where to go. By locking arms with the state, LA County is transforming these vacant buildings into a mental healthcare village where people can get the safe, professional, and compassionate treatment and housing they desperately need.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2024, Senator Bob Archuleta authored SB 1336, which allowed the State of California to lease the approximately 13-acre site within Metropolitan State Hospital\u2019s campus to Los Angeles County.<\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s groundbreaking represents an important step forward in addressing California\u2019s growing mental health and homelessness crisis,\u201d\u00a0Senator Bob Archuleta said.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cWhen the Governor signed my bill, SB 1336 into law in 2024, it created the pathway to repurpose vacant buildings on the Metropolitan State Hospital campus into a mental health care community that will provide housing, treatment, and critical services for individuals in need. I am grateful to Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health for their partnership and leadership in bringing this vision to life and ensuring our region has the resources to support those most in need.\u201d<\/p>\n The LA County Care Community will repurpose six vacant historic buildings on the Metropolitan State Hospital campus. The campus will offer\u00a0three levels of care<\/strong>,\u00a0totaling 162 beds,<\/strong>\u00a0all in one coordinated setting:<\/p>\n The sixth building will provide a communal space for the residents of the two permanent supportive housing facilities, including a kitchen, case management and property management offices, wellness and flex spaces, and a computer lounge.\u00a0 Each facility will be designed with its own dedicated courtyard, tailored to the population it serves. These outdoor spaces will provide therapeutic and recreational environments that support healing\u00a0and overall well-being.<\/p>\n Rendering of a bedroom in a secure mental health rehabilitation center in the LA County Care Community<\/p>\n The $106 million project is made possible with $65 million in state Proposition 1 funding, which voters approved in 2024 to finance behavioral health treatment infrastructure, in addition to other state and county funds.\u00a0 To date, it is the most significant Proposition 1 financed project to break ground.<\/p>\n \u201cToday marks a critical milestone in our commitment to transforming California\u2019s behavioral health system,\u201d said\u00a0California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Kim Johnson<\/strong>. \u201cThrough these investments, we are creating bold, community-driven solutions that expand access to care, promote equity, and meet people where they are. These projects reflect our values and vision for a healthier, more compassionate California.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe L.A. County Care Community represents something deeply important \u2014 our commitment to showing up for people not only in moments of crisis, but every single day,\u201d said\u00a0Dr. Lisa H. Wong, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThis campus brings together permanent supportive housing, interim housing, subacute care, and psychiatric health services together in one location where we are creating a true continuum of care \u2014 meeting people where they are and walking alongside them on their path to stability and recovery. We are deeply grateful for the support of our Board of Supervisors, and specifically Supervisor Janice Hahn, for championing this special project and helping bring this vision to life.\u201d<\/p>\n Recognizing the importance of being a good neighbor and supporting the surrounding community,\u00a0the LA County Department of Mental Health\u00a0will reserve dedicated beds within the interim housing facilities specifically for\u00a0people experiencing homelessness in\u00a0Norwalk.<\/p>\n \u201cThis campus will bring care closer to home for Los Angeles County residents,\u201d said\u00a0California Department of Health Care Services<\/strong>\u00a0Director Michelle Baass<\/strong>. \u201cThis facility, and soon, many more like it, will provide thousands of new opportunities for treatment, stability, and a coordinated place for people to get the support they need.\u201d<\/p>\n The six buildings that will make up the LA County Care Community were built in the 1920s and have been vacant since the early 2000s.<\/p>\n Remodeling of the Interim Housing site and the two Mental Health Rehabilitation Centers will be done by Swinerton. Construction will focus heavily on adaptive reuse, preserving the historic character of the campus and structures, while modernizing the existing buildings to meet current standards for care, safety, and accessibility.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project represents our shared commitment to ensuring that the communities we serve have access to world-class healthcare in a modern, welcoming facility,\u201d said\u00a0Los Angeles County Public Works Director Mark Pestrella, P.E.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re not just repurposing historic buildings; we\u2019re revitalizing their purpose and providing access to care and wellness that will empower this community for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n Remodeling of the Interim Housing site and the two Mental Health Rehabilitation Centers is set to be completed in December 2027 and January 2028 respectively. \u00a0A construction timeline for the permanent supportive housing facilities has yet to be determined.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo Credit: Martin Zamora NORWALK, CA...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79639"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79640,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79639\/revisions\/79640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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