County manager outlines behavioral-health investments: CARES campus housing, West Hills mental-health conversion

Washoe County Manager Eric Brown told the Warren Springs Rural Citizen Advisory Board on March 12 that the county is directing opioid settlement funds and other grants toward expanded behavioral‑health services and housing to reduce reliance on jails and emergency rooms.

Brown said the CARES campus — the county's low‑barrier shelter complex — has moved into the next phase after the county received $21,000,000 from the state’s Home Means Nevada Fund to build affordable housing adjacent to the shelter. "If we could begin to find places for them to stay so that they're not in a shelter, that would be helpful and that's what we're gonna, be focusing on now," Brown said.

The county also relocated the Men's Crossroads program for people with substance‑use issues and launched a family version so participants can remain with their families. Brown described a pilot of the sequential intercept model at the county jail to deliver behavioral‑health treatment inside a non‑punitive environment, noting that the program began in October with state grant funding and that continued funding is uncertain.

Brown said the county has distributed roughly $4.5 million of opioid settlement funds so far and that the Board of County Commissioners approved an action plan developed by contracted opioid analysts. He also announced the county hired Julia Ratti as a mental‑health administrator; Brown said Ratti had previously served on the Sparks Planning Commission and as a state senator and will coordinate the county's behavioral‑health action plan.

Brown described an ongoing project to acquire and renovate the former West Hills Hospital, funded in part by the state, into a mixed‑use facility focused on juvenile mental‑health services and subacute adult care. "Our goal is to make sure that that can get taken care of here in Washoe County," he said, citing the cost and harm of shipping children out of state for care.

Why it matters: Brown said the county faces both a housing shortage and gaps in behavioral‑health capacity that put pressure on shelters, jails and emergency rooms. He framed housing, crisis response centers and in‑county treatment facilities as central to the county's strategy to reduce incarceration and ER visits for people with behavioral‑health needs.

Implementation and uncertainty: Brown said some programs rely on state or federal grants that may be paused or expire. He said the county is pursuing grant funding and partnerships, including potential collaboration with the University of Nevada, Reno and Renown Health for training and internships.