REDDING, Calif. — California officials have decided not to fund a proposed $206 million mental health campus in Shasta County, even after a 16-month effort by local leaders to win support for the project.
Arch Collaborative, a Northern California nonprofit, said the project, called True North Campus, would have brought many types of mental health and addiction treatment to one place. Plans included crisis care for people in immediate danger, detox services, hospital beds, outpatient treatment and coordinated support all on one campus.
On Wednesday, the state announced it will award $1.18 billion in the final round of its Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP). Since 2021, California has invested about $6 billion to build and improve mental health facilities. Arch Collaborative said the True North Campus was not chosen for funding by the state Department of Health Care Services.
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Arch Collaborative said it worked for 16 months to unite rural counties around the proposal. Twelve counties joined the application, which included 69 letters of support. Organizers said people in the region often cycle between emergency rooms, jails and homelessness when they cannot find mental health care close to home.
“I am disappointed in the state’s decision not to fund the True North Campus,” said Kimberly Johnson, CEO of Arch Collaborative. “A project of this scale and ambition, proposed in a region navigating significant political complexity, inevitably faced headwinds. Combined with the financial scale of the request, I believe those dynamics ultimately presented a level of risk the state could not take on. I understand that. But understanding a decision does not change the need it leaves unmet.”
Signature Healthcare, which partnered on the proposal, said the campus cannot move forward as planned without state funding.
“Signature Healthcare was proud to stand alongside Arch Collaborative and this regional coalition in pursuit of services the rural North State desperately needs,” said Eric Kim, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Planning at Signature Healthcare. “Without BHCIP funding, the True North Campus cannot move forward as envisioned. But Signature is committed to expanding access to care in underserved communities, and we will continue to explore what is possible.”
Support for the mental health campus wasn’t unanimous in Shasta County. A majority of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors voted 3–2 to oppose the project, saying they were worried about long-term costs, unclear plans and how the county would be involved. Board Chair Kevin Crye led the opposition, calling the project unnecessary and risky.
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