Civil

New Mental Health Center Honors Late Hampton Sheriff Roberts

The BJ Roberts Behavioral Health Center, a new 20,000-square-foot mental health facility in Hampton, honors the late Sheriff Billy Joe Roberts, whose estate helped fund the urgent care center aimed at transforming crisis intervention in the region.
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By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

Thanks to a financial gift from the estate of the late Hampton Sheriff Billy Joe Roberts, a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new mental health treatment center that honors his memory was held in late April in Hampton.

The new BJ Roberts Behavioral Health Center in Hampton is a 20,000 square-foot treatment center that honors Roberts, whose dedication to mental health included a gift he left in his will. The Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board recently hosted the center’s grand opening.

It is designed to serve individuals experiencing acute mental health crises. It will offer a range of urgent care services, including therapy, medication management, suicide prevention, and crisis intervention. Unlike traditional emergency rooms, the facility emphasizes a peaceful and therapeutic atmosphere.

Located at 300 Marcella Rd. in Hampton, the treatment center will help relieve pressure on local emergency departments by providing a more appropriate setting for mental health emergencies, according to a press release.

Roberts passed away at age 70 in late 2020 after serving nearly three decades as Hampton’s sheriff, according to his obituary. He was first elected in 1992 and re-elected to serve six terms. Roberts earned his bachelor’s in business management at Hampton University. He completed the Northwestern University Public Safety Management School in Illinois; the National Sheriffs’ Institute (NSI) program in Colorado, the Virginia Sheriffs’ Institute’s Chief Executive Training program, and the Civic Leadership Institute.

Former Mayor Donnie Tuck, who served as mayor from 2016-2024, said after he learned of Roberts’ death in late December 2020, “He always had a presence in the community,” Tuck said. “There is going to be a big hole in Hampton that will be difficult to fill.”

According to news reports, in the 1990s, Roberts helped improve the city’s jail, which was overcrowded and under scrutiny by federal authorities. Tuck said Roberts was passionate about preparing inmates to return to the community upon release and improving their living conditions in the jail.

“He took a jail that had great deficiencies and turned it around,” Tuck said.

Roberts’ law enforcement career began in 1971 when he became a patrolman for the Newport News Police Force. He spent 19 years with Hampton University’s Campus Police, where he moved through the ranks to become the director of Police and Public Safety. He won numerous community awards and was inducted into the Police Hall of Fame. He was the first African-American to serve as president of the National Sheriffs Association.

Funding for Hampton’s new treatment center came from a variety of sources, including contributions from the cities of Hampton and Newport News, Sentara Healthcare, the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and support from Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s “Right Help, Right Now” initiative.