Sonora, CA — State bond money is coming to Tuolumne County to help overhaul a portion of the former Tuolumne General Hospital campus into a peer respite site to help people with mental health and/or substance use challenges.
The $9.5 million to Tuolumne County was announced by Governor Gavin Newsom and comes from the 2024 voter-approved Proposition 1, an overhaul of the state’s Behavioral Health System. The bond measure includes $6.4 billion in funding to create 6,800+ residential treatment beds across the state and other related projects. A primary goal is to address homelessness.
The money approved for Tuolumne County is for a project called, “The Foundry – A Place Where Strength is Forged.”
Tuolumne County is one of 66 projects announced in the current round of funding ($1.18 billion).
The Governor’s Office included a statement from Tuolumne County Supervisor Jaron Brandon in the announcement, who said, “Drug and mental illness treatment without safe refuge means fewer successful recoveries, and particularly rural areas struggle with bedspace. This $9.5 million for peer respite housing supports those trying to get better in the safe place they need, and in this case, breathes life back into a formerly closed public facility. It is a win for California, for clients, and for Tuolumne County.”
The California Department of Health Care Services reports that the $9.5 million award was approved earlier this month, and the estimated project completion date is June 2030.
The facility is at 101 Hospital Road in Sonora.
The project was described in the Tuolumne County Behavioral Health 2026-2029, Three-year Integrated Plan, which is on the county’s website.
The description from the county’s behavioral health plan is below:
There is a clear need for the Peer Respite Site to improve the Housing Continuum within Tuolumne County, with these bond funds this improvement can be made. The Peer Respite Site would be located on the same campus as both the Behavioral Health Department Clinic and the Peer Run Drop-in Center. Having a Peer Respite Site on this campus could increase the ability for consumers to connect with community and socialization, resources, interim and supportive housing programs, and have access to the full scope of Behavioral Health Services without having to leave the site.
The Peer Respite will address the urgent needs in the care continuum for people with mental health or substance use conditions, including unhoused people, veterans, and older adults in Tuolumne County. It will also increase options for those who are released from incarceration, who are experiencing homelessness, and decrease hospitalization. It will ensure that care can be provided in the least restrictive settings to support community integration, choice, and autonomy. The Department will also be able to leverage county and Medi-Cal investments to support ongoing stability of the site. This will all be done through the site being staffed 24/7 by the Behavioral Health Department. Consumers will have access to not only traditional Behavioral Health Services during business hours, but 24/7 Peer Respite Site staff which will include Peer Specialists and Case Managers.
There will be 24/7 access to crisis support for all consumers. The site will focus on crisis stabilization, peer specialist services, housing navigation, and case management.
