SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. – The County of Santa Clara announced the opening of a new residential treatment facility, Vermont House, that will provide mental health services, case management, and temporary housing for people with serious behavioral health needs exiting incarceration. Vermont House is the latest facility to open as part of the County’s efforts to create 530 new treatment beds for residents with severe mental illnesses by 2030.

"As the community’s safety-net service provider, the County continues to expand and improve our behavioral health system to better meet the needs of our community and those in crisis,” said County Executive James R. Williams. “The opening of Vermont House is one example of how the County is expanding residential treatment options, especially for those leaving our County jail system who need access to mental health services. By providing additional pathways to services and support, we can help more individuals stabilize and get healthy in safe, structured environments.”
 
The newly renovated Vermont House facility will provide a total of 15 beds for transitional housing with treatment services provided to clients residing on-site. The facility will serve as a middle ground for people leaving incarceration whose mental health does not require hospitalization or crisis stabilization but would benefit from a structured treatment environment and support with independent living skills.

“We made it clear that the Mental Health Crisis declaration was not just lip service – it was a call to action that something needs to be done,” said Board of Supervisors President Otto Lee, who co-sponsored the Board of Supervisors’ Mental Health Crisis declaration with Supervisor Susan Ellenberg. “We immediately knew that one of the biggest issues was the lack of safe spaces where people having a mental health crisis could turn to help.”

In response to the Board of Supervisors’ declaration of a Mental Health Crisis in 2022, the County established a goal of creating 530 new treatment beds for residents with severe mental illnesses by 2030. Since July 1, 2022, the County has increased access by 208 behavioral health treatment beds, which serve approximately 2,035 individuals annually. That represents a nearly 20% increase from the County’s previous supply of 1,060 beds. An additional 227 beds are in development, bringing the County even closer to meeting its 2030 goal.
 
Beds added since 2022 include 53 for acute care, 69 for subacute, 69 for mental health community residential, and 17 for substance use residential and withdrawal management.
 
“Adding these beds, at all levels of need, will ensure that people in Santa Clara County receive care that’s appropriate and conducive to them moving through recovery,” said Supervisor Susan Ellenberg. “It’s very exciting that looking forward, we know that we are well on the way to meeting our goal over the next five years.”
 
Supervisor Betty Duong said providing additional mental health beds for justice-involved individuals ultimately benefits the whole community.
 
“Keeping individuals from returning to the criminal justice system while maintaining safe streets and neighborhoods for families in our community requires a full spectrum of services, including care,” Duong said. “That is why Vermont House is such a critical addition to the County of Santa Clara’s efforts to deal with the mental health crisis.”
 
The County continues to make significant investments in its behavioral health system, allocating more than $870 million for programs and services in the proposed FY25-26 budget, which will be voted on by the Board of Supervisors on Thursday. If adopted, the budget will make key investments in behavioral health treatment beds, substance use treatment services, and enhanced mobile crisis response, including a new mobile narcotic treatment program (NTP). The County also continues to invest in early-intervention and treatment programs in 28 school districts across the county.

Construction is 80% complete at the Behavioral Health Services Center on the Valley Medical Center campus, a 77-bed facility that will serve children, youth, and adults with acute behavioral health needs and is anticipated to open in the second quarter of 2026.
 
About Vermont House
Vermont House, located in San Jose, is a residential treatment facility operated by the County of Santa Clara through an on-site service provider, Community Solutions.  The County purchased the facility from the City of San José in January 2025 using a California Health Facilities Financing Authority (CHFFA) grant. The facility will serve as a middle ground for people leaving incarceration whose mental health does not require hospitalization or crisis stabilization but would benefit from a structured treatment environment and support with independent living skills.
 
The programs and services provided at Vermont House include:

• A safe, supportive, supervised environment that feels like home, with wellness groups and evidence-based practices for adults who can benefit from less restrictive settings.
• Services that promote recovery, reducing the length of incarceration and increasing the number of eligible residents who can go on to independent living. This includes psychiatric services and case management, addiction treatment services, medication support and other support.
• Individual and group treatment for mental health and co-occurring disorders.
• Safe opportunities to increase family and social reintegration with social supports nearby.
• Discharge planning – including linkage to outpatient services – will be available to help residents transition to lower levels of care when they meet their goals for independent living. 

 
ABOUT THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA 
The County of Santa Clara government serves a diverse, multicultural population of 1.9 million residents in Santa Clara County, Calif., making it more populous than 14 states in the United States. The County provides essential services to its residents, including public health protection, environmental stewardship, medical services through the County of Santa Clara Health System, child and adult protection services, homelessness prevention and solutions, roads, park services, libraries, emergency response to disasters, protection of minority communities and those under threat, access to a fair criminal justice system, and many other public benefits.
 
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MEDIA CONTACTS: María Leticia Gómez / Eric Kurhi, Office of Communications and Public Affairs, 408-299-5119, [email protected]