Hampton behavioral health center to expand emergency mental health services on the Peninsula

Josh Janney, The Virginian-Pilot
·3 min read

HAMPTON — The Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board broke ground Thursday on a new behavioral health facility which officials say will be crucial for addressing emergency mental health needs in the community.

State and local elected officials, healthcare providers, and stakeholders gathered at 300 Marcella Rd. in Hampton — the site of the future BJ Roberts Behavioral Health Center, a crisis receiving center — for the ceremony.

Over the next few months, the vacant building on the site will be remodeled into a center designed to provide behavioral health care such as assessments, provision of medication, suicide prevention, counseling and therapy. The center is expected to open in December.

Ryan Dudley, director of crisis services on the board, said the new 20,000-square-foot center will provide much greater capacity than the 11-bed facility it is replacing.

“You’re probably somewhat familiar with in the past several years, the access to psychiatric beds has been so limited, that oftentimes individuals are instead sitting in emergency departments, and in law enforcement custody,” Dudley said. “So this will also allow a more therapeutic environment.”

Hampton Newport News Community Services Board Deputy Executive Director Daphne Cunningham said once fully operational, the center will provide 16 single-room residential crisis beds. It will also have 16 temporary seats where patients could stay up to 23 hours as they are observed and have their treatment initiated.

Cunningham said if longer stays are needed, those can be coordinated on-site as well. She said the center will offer an on site Crisis Intervention Team Assessment Center, wherein staff can interface with law enforcement personnel directly to assist individuals in crisis.

“For folks who are having a hard time, going through something, and they have thoughts that they can’t control or things like that, they can come here and we’ll assess them,” Cunningham said. “And we’ll make the determination of whether we can serve them here or whether they need services elsewhere. But we think that we’ll be able to serve quite a few people here.”

Cunningham said it remains to be determined how many new staff will need to be hired.

Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck said the expanded services will make Hampton “a safer, stronger and more compassionate city.”

“This facility will not end mental illness in the world,” Tuck said. “No facility could do that. But it will help local residents in moments of urgent need.”

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The cost of the center is being shared by various entities, including the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the cities of Hampton and Newport News, Sentara Healthcare, and state funds allocated through Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s “Right Help Right Now” initiative. Community service board officials did not provide a cost estimate for the project, saying they are still working on final figures.

The center is named after longtime Hampton sheriff and mental health advocate B.J. Roberts, who died in 2020.

“B.J. was never just focused on physical safety,” Tuck said. “He had a tremendous appreciation for the importance of mental health as well. And he understood how vital that was for residents of all ages.”

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com