{"id":222,"date":"2026-05-13T05:34:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T05:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=222"},"modified":"2026-05-13T05:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T05:34:11","slug":"decades-after-voter-approval-miami-mental-health-center-still-not-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=222","title":{"rendered":"Decades after voter approval, Miami mental health center still not open"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It has been more than 20 years since Miami-Dade County voters approved funding for a facility intended to help people living with mental illness. Yet today, the $51 million\u00a0Miami Center for Mental Health and Recovery\u00a0remains unopened despite being fully constructed and ready for use.<\/p>\n

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Just west of Interstate 95, with the downtown Miami skyline rising in the distance, stands the seven-story, cream-colored building. Advocates say it represents both promise and frustration.<\/p>\n

Supporters argue the center could lift up some of the county\u2019s most vulnerable residents \u2014 if and when it finally begins operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fundamentally change how we deal with people with serious mental illnesses,\u201d said retired Miami-Dade Judge Steve Leifman, who has spent decades pushing for reforms in the system.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In April, Leifman joined members of the interfaith coalition PACT \u2014 People Acting for Community Together \u2014 to call on county leaders to move forward with opening the long-delayed facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, the Miami-Dade County jail has effectively become the largest psychiatric institution in the State of Florida,\u201d he said during the event last month.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Leifman described the impact the facility could have: \u201ca fully constructed, ready to open, first-of-its-kind facility designed to break the costly and ineffective cycle of jail, emergency rooms, and homelessness. All that remains is the county commission\u2019s approval to open the doors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite that, those doors remain shut \u2014 even though voters first approved taxpayer funding for the project back in 2004.<\/p>\n

Last year, Leifman gave NBC6 Investigates a tour of the empty facility and outlined its intended services, which include medical care, education and job training.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the time you leave here, you\u2019ll be stable, we\u2019ll have arranged permanent housing for you when you leave, you\u2019ll have job skills,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Still, one key question persists: when will it open?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really good question,\u201d Leifman said when asked last summer. \u201cI\u2019ve been telling people six months for three years now.\u201d<\/p>\n

A proposal currently under consideration would launch the center through a two-year pilot program funded by both federal dollars and opioid litigation settlements. However, uncertainty about long-term funding remains a major obstacle.<\/p>\n

Some county commissioners have voiced concern about the sustainability of paying to run the facility beyond the initial pilot phase.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf I am being treated there for two years and I am getting better, God forbid that we don\u2019t have the funding come year three to continue the care that this resident so desperately deserves,\u201d said Miami-Dade Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins during a February committee meeting.<\/p>\n

Miami-Dade Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez echoed those concerns while emphasizing his support for the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see this happen. I think all of my colleagues here want to see this happen,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cBut we can\u2019t just set up an institution for failure\u2014especially when we\u2019re dealing with lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those lives include some inmates in Miami-Dade jails who have been deemed incompetent by judges and are awaiting transfer to treatment facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose individuals would instead be housed in the secure area of this facility,\u201d said Miami-Dade Public Defender Carlos Martinez.<\/p>\n

Martinez said the county center could provide immediate relief to a strained system, noting long delays in access to state psychiatric beds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not a single client right now that is found incompetent and that they\u2019re going to a state hospital even within two months,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA homeless man was left with serious injuries after a brutal attack inside a Miami-Dade County jail \u2014 an incident now raising serious questions about whether it could have been prevented and highlighting a growing shortage of mental health resources for inmates. NBC6’s Amy Viteri reports\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

NBC6 Investigates revealed a recent incident\u00a0that underscores the urgency. A homeless man, Henry Diaz, who was arrested in April on burglary and petty theft charges, suffered a brain injury while in custody. Authorities allege he was attacked by a cellmate who had already been ordered transferred to a state facility. Both men had previously been found incompetent by judges.<\/p>\n

The violent incident, currently under investigation, highlights what\u2019s at stake, and the real-world consequences of delays in treatment and limited resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be great to have funds available for 10 years and we need to do that,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cBut the crisis that we have is right now with people lagging in the jail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has expressed support for a plan to have nonprofit organizations operate the facility during its pilot phase. The proposal is being sponsored by Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A\u00a0public meeting\u00a0on the future of the mental health center is scheduled for Wednesday in the county commission chambers.<\/p>\n

Read more Money Chat<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It has been more than 20 years since Miami-Dade County voters approved funding for a facility intended to help people living with mental illness. 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