Florida Construction News staff writer
State Senator Ileana Garcia brought a $400,000 cheque to the Miami Mental and Health Recovery Center this week, to help with renovation costs.
The facility will provide a comprehensive system of care for individuals with serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders who frequently cycle through the criminal justice and other acute care treatment systems.
The fully-renovated facility will include a central receiving center, an integrated crisis stabilization unit and addiction receiving facility, various levels of residential treatment, day treatment and day activity programs, outpatient behavioral health and primary care, dental and optometry services, vocational rehabilitation and employment services. Classrooms and educational spaces will be built, along with transitional housing, a courtroom, and space for legal and social service agencies.
Combined with programs of research and education, the center will serve as a model for facilities of this type throughout the nation.
Miami-Dade County worked with the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Criminal Mental Health Project and stakeholders from across the community to plan and develop the first-of-its-kind mental health diversion and treatment facility for individuals with serious mental illnesses involved in or at risk of becoming involved in the criminal justice system.
