UVALDE, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday announced a $34 million behavioral health campus that will be built in Uvalde to provide on-site care to children and adults experiencing mental health crises in the community and 32 counties in the surrounding area.
Two buildings will make up the campus. One will be a regional behavioral health care building focusing on crisis stabilization and acting as a 24/7 diversion center for walk-in patients and those dropped off by law enforcement. A second building will be dedicated to outpatient programs.
The campus will house a 16-bed crisis unit for adults with 10 crisis residential beds and six extended observation unit (EOU) beds. The youth wing will also feature 16 beds, including 12 crisis residential beds and four EOU beds.
“Our communities — urban and rural — are stronger when Texans are safe and healthy, and the State of Texas continues working to expand access to critical mental health resources to ensure Texans in every community get the support they need,” Abbott said. “...This new behavioral health campus will provide Texans experiencing a mental health crisis with access to mental health professionals and around-the-clock treatment to address their needs.”
Abbott signed House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 30 into law during the 88th legislative session, which approved $33.6 million to build the campus and another $5 million to help fund its first year of operation.
The announcement comes two years after the Robb Elementary School shooting on May 24, 2022, when a gunman killed 19 children and two adults. After the shooting, Abbott received backlash for blaming the tragedy on a lack of mental health resources as some families of the victims pleaded for tighter gun restrictions.
Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers will operate and oversee construction of the 50,000-square-foot campus through a contract with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. The City of Uvalde is donating seven acres of land where the campus will be built.
“The regional facility will be a state-of-the-art crisis and outpatient center serving those who are most in need," said Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers Chief Executive Officer Tod Citron. "We are thrilled to be bringing these critically-needed behavioral health care services to Uvalde for our rural catchment area and that of two other local mental health authorities.”
Construction will begin this summer and the facility is expected to open in 2025.