SAMHC has been caring for persons in southern Arizona for over 40 years. The agency began as The Southern Arizona Mental Health Clinic, which was established in 1961 through the joint efforts of the Arizona State Hospital, the Heller Foundation, the Mental Health Association and the Psychology Department at the University of Arizona. The Clinic provided diagnostic and ongoing treatment service on a sliding fee scale basis. In 1962, the agency became a State-owned and operated outpatient mental health facility as a part of the Arizona State Hospital. The agency provided comprehensive mental health services in five southern AZ counties (Pima, Cochise, Graham, Greenlee and Santa Cruz) until July of 1996, when the Arizona State Legislature passed a bill that privatized the agency.

Following the legislative action, the agency became a private non-profit mental health facility doing business as Southern Arizona Mental Health Corporation (SAMHC). SAMHC has focused its services toward providing Crisis Care and Stabilization for residents of Pima County and outlying areas of southern Arizona. As a 24 hour-per-day, 365 day-per-year service, SAMHC has continued to play a major role in the development of community mental health care in Arizona and in coordinating efforts to help individuals obtain that care in the least restrictive environment.

SAMHC has a significant history of “firsts” for innovative service programs in Arizona, including the first pharmacy on the grounds of a community health center (1965); the first walk-in clinic (1970); the first court mental health clinic through the Pima County Superior Court (1972); the first Brief Treatment Program in Southern Arizona; and one of the first nine Community Mental Health Centers in the nation to receive Joint Commission of Healthcare Organizations Accreditation.

In keeping with a tradition of “firsts”, SAMHC is the nucleus of the first Crisis Consortium of care providers in Pima County, AZ. Consortium agencies are committed to:

z Provide specialized crisis counseling services for youth and adults through
        contractual arrangements and letters of agreement with provider agencies.
z Raise community awareness of behavioral health crisis services through print,
         television media exposure, and live presentations.
z Provide short-term respite services for persons who require a safe
        environment for brief periods.
z Assist Law Enforcement to divert people from incarceration to
        appropriate behavioral health services through an education program for law
        enforcement officers, and SAMHC's accompanying "Law Enforcement
        Guide to Helping the Mentally Ill."
z Enhance behavioral health services to rural areas.