Ritter Center has been awarded nearly $10.5 million through the Bond Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program Round 1: Launch Ready, administered by the California Department of Health Care Services.
This investment will support the Ritter Builds Hope project — a new Integrated Behavioral Healthcare Facility at 800 A St. in San Rafael— designed to serve individuals experiencing homelessness, poverty, mental illness and substance use disorders in Marin County.
This funding is part of a broader effort by the Department of Health Care Services, which recently announced over $3.3 billion in competitive awards to 124 sponsors across the state. The goal of the Bond Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program is to modernize California’s behavioral health system by creating sustainable, community-based infrastructure for mental health and substance use treatment. These investments aim to ensure that individuals can access crisis stabilization, outpatient care or long-term recovery.
“As the only Federally Qualified Health Center in Marin County with a Healthcare for the Homeless designation, we are honored to expand our services to care for Marin County’s most vulnerable populations,” said Mark Shotwell, CEO of Ritter Center. “The Ritter Builds Hope project will meet a critical need for mental health counseling, substance use disorder treatment and crisis response services.”
For over 40 years, Ritter Center has provided medical and behavioral health care, housing support, and essential services to individuals and families living on the margins. The new facility will centralize and expand access to care in a setting focused on trauma- informed, integrated treatment.
“This new facility will allow us to serve more people, more effectively — especially those who face complex barriers to accessing care,” said Rory Rieger, clinical director at Ritter Center. “Our work is grounded in the belief that everyone deserves access to comprehensive support, regardless of their housing or income status.”
Supported by the passage of Proposition 1 in March 2024, the program is expected to create 6,800 residential treatment beds and 26,700 outpatient treatment slots statewide. The state estimates this expansion will provide an offramp from institutional settings and reduce reliance on emergency rooms, jails and involuntary hospitalization. Guiding principles include:
• Investing in behavioral health infrastructure that advances racial and geographic equity
• Addressing urgent gaps in the care continuum
• Creating alternatives to incarceration, homelessness and hospitalization
• Expanding services for high-need populations, including those with co-occurring disorders.
For more information, visit rittercenter.org.
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