Three decades ago, as the doors to the big mental health institutions began to close, a new door opened in a small storefront and a new day for people with mental illness began.  What grew out of the need for community-based mental health care has grown into a vital, vibrant, and remarkable community center for people with mental illness . . . Vail Place.

Vail Place opened its doors in September 1981 in a small storefront on Main Street in Hopkins..  It started out with three employees and 25 members – people join and belong to Vail Place as members, they are not patients or clients – and an $88,000 annual budget.  It is now in the forefront of community mental health providers with two facilities and an apartment complex, more than 40 staff, over 1,700 members, and an annual budget of close to $3 million. 

From storefront to forefront, Vail Place continues to meet its members’ day-to-day needs and provides a wide variety of opportunities for their personal growth and recovery – all in the context of a mutually supportive community environment with a focus on healing, growth, relationships, and recovery.