Hope House

A Beacon of Hope and Recovery

Contra Costa Regional Medical Center (CCRMC) was faced with a multitude of challenges to address their mental health populations. Medicare and Medicaid survey results of their facilities indicated that the system needed to meet new standards of care. The Mental Health Services Act mandates that the community must be involved in the planning process for any new mental health facilities. In addition, the regional medical center had to shut down a 20-bed psychiatric inpatient unit. CCRMC needed a partner to facilitate the process with the community, aid with system-wide change management, and deliver an exceptional design solution.

An intensive year-long community planning process ensued. The results were a better understanding of the challenges CCRMC faced and the dire need for crisis, urgent residential, and emergency-level mental health services with a focus on wellness and recovery. Once the community planning process was complete, a new campus was planned for three distinct centers.

The first project to be implemented was Hope House, a 7,161 SF, 16-bed, secured, short-term residential treatment facility for involuntary patients. Hope House is tucked within a wooded hillside to lessen the institutional nature of the clinical space. The design is homelike with abundant daylight, operable windows, and expansive views to the outdoors. The design incorporates pockets of flexible, variously scaled indoor and outdoor communal spaces conducive to a variety of healing activities providing patients with control over their environment. What was once a difficult challenge for CCRMC and the community has now become a beacon of hope and recovery.