Originally published in the Napa Valley Register on October 15th, 2024
Mentis announced a $1 million fundraising campaign in support of its new Wellness Campus, a 12,000-square-foot facility meant to serve as “a cornerstone for Napa Valley’s mental wellness.”
With construction in progress, Mentis is seeking the support from the Napa Valley community to raise the final dollars needed to launch services at the new location, according to a news release.
“This campaign is not about a beautiful new building, but about what this building makes possible,” said Rob Weiss, executive director at Mentis.
“Our new campus is all about leveling up to meet the skyrocketing demand for mental health services in our community – a demand our current offices could not accommodate,” he said. The new building “will allow us to reach more people, launch new needed services and programs – and provide a model for what accessible, high-quality, culturally responsive, and community-based mental health care can look like.”
The Wellness Campus will serve as a hub for a full scope of mental health resources, including both preventive wellness programs and mental health treatment, the announcement said.
Located at 1272 Hayes St., the former site of the Blue Oak Middle School, and reachable by public transportation, the center will feature a community gathering space, supportive art studio, a multi-use sport court, and additional private therapy rooms, the news release said.
Mentis said the new space is more than four times larger than its current facilities on Franklin Street, “and will significantly increase the agency’s capacity to serve the community.”
The project began in December 2022 when Mentis was awarded a $4.75 million grant from California to purchase the building, which Blue Oak vacated to build a new middle school on downtown Polk Street.
“Further progress was made with the generous support of several key donors and partners, including the Napa Valley Vintners and Kaiser Permanente,” organizers said.
To date, Mentis has raised $9.6 million but requires another $1 million to open its doors, according to the announcement.
For more information, visit rippleeffect.mentisnapa.org or email [email protected].