EDITORIAL: Mental health help close to home is a win for Marin

Jan. 27—For years, Marin has had a local shortage of residential treatment facilities for mental health patients.

Those patients have had to leave the county to find one, often creating distance between them and their families.

In 2019, the county Board of Supervisors decided to step up and fill that longstanding void. They voted to turn the old county public health lab at 920 Grand Ave. in downtown San Rafael into a 16-bed, live-in mental health program for adults with serious mental illnesses and co-occurring substance abuse disorders.

The board approved $4.8 million plans to convert the 13,000-square-foot building, now used as county office space, into a residential facility. Construction is expected to take 18 months.

The lab was shut down after the county, in a money-saving move, opted to consolidate services with other counties.

Opening its own residential treatment facility is also expected to save the county money that it now pays to place patients in out-of-county facilities, some as far away as Fresno or Southern California, that could cost as much as $1,000 per day, depending on the level of care.

Currently, the county spends about $9 million to provide beds for mental health patients.

Normally, such a change would require city approval, but the project is exempt because it is county-owned property. Yet the county informed the city of its plans and San Rafael Mayor Kate Colin said the city is aware of the local shortage of mental health beds and is hopeful the residential facility can provide a safety net that can help with the local homeless problem.

"The facility will be beneficial for its clients and our community will benefit from having them safely housed," she said.

Credit Colin for recognizing the greater good to the entire county that this facility provides in filling a longstanding gap in mental health care.

Most importantly, Jei Africa, director of Marin County's behavioral health and recovery services division, said being able to provide the needed treatment closer to home often leads to better outcomes and a more successful transition back into the community.

It also saves families money, significantly reducing the cost of having to travel long distances to visit patients.

Typically, people suffering from a mental health crisis are initially taken to the county's crisis stabilization unit, a 10-bed complex in Greenbrae. By law, patients have to be released within 24 hours.

A 17-bed unit is nearby at the MarinHealth Medical Center. In addition, the county runs the Casa Rene facility in San Rafael, a short-term crisis residential program for 10 adult patients. But more beds are needed and have been for a long time. The county's plans respond to that need.

The county is hoping to contract with an experienced nonprofit to manage the facility.

This an important commitment by the county and its responsibility to maintain the public health and welfare of the community.

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