State allocates $65 million to build mental health project in Norwalk

The $65 million state grant will fund the renovation of two vacant buildings at Metropolitan State Hospital which will become psychiatric subacute facilities for people between the ages of 18 and 25.

(Drone photo courtesy Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office)

A long-vacant section of the Metropolitan State Hospital campus in Norwalk is poised for transformation into a comprehensive mental healthcare village, thanks to a $65 million state grant awarded to Los Angeles County.

The funding, announced Tuesday by Supervisor Janice Hahn, is part of the $3.3 billion in Proposition 1 funds approved by California voters earlier this year to address the state’s mental health crisis. The money will support the conversion of two unused buildings at the state-run psychiatric hospital into facilities tailored to transitional age youth, ages 18 to 25.

“This mental healthcare village is exactly the type of facility voters were thinking of when they approved Proposition 1,” Hahn said in a statement. “These buildings are doing no one any good sitting empty and we have a plan to convert them into the Los Angeles County Care Community — a mental healthcare village where we can provide humane, professional treatment and housing to people who desperately need it.”

The grant will fund the renovation of two buildings that will each house 16 beds, offering a combined 32 subacute psychiatric care beds for young adults. The larger vision for the site includes renovating six buildings to create the LA County Care Community, a 219-bed campus offering various levels of mental health care and housing support.

Located on 162 acres in Norwalk, the Metropolitan State Hospital is operated by the California Department of State Hospitals and currently specializes in psychiatric treatment. The new project will expand the county’s ability to serve adults and young people experiencing mental illness and housing instability.

“With Proposition 1 funding earmarked specifically for the Metro campus, we can increase our capacity to provide the highest level of mental health services and resources,” said Dr. Lisa H. Wong, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. “This much-needed investment is an important step in providing safe spaces and vital treatment for our county’s most vulnerable populations.”

Hahn has championed the project as a model for how public properties can be reimagined to meet pressing mental health and housing needs. The care village is expected to provide treatment to hundreds of patients annually once fully operational.