Orange County Names Crisis Diversion Facility the Jamezetta Bedford Crisis Care Center
Honoring Late Commissioner Jamezetta Bedford’s Lifelong Commitment to Care and Community
During its Sept. 1 meeting, the Orange County Board of Commissioners approved naming the county’s new crisis diversion facility the Jamezetta Bedford Crisis Care Center, honoring the late commissioner and her eight years of service to Orange County.
Commissioner Bedford passed away unexpectedly on June 21, 2026. She was first elected to the Board of Commissioners in 2018 and reelected in 2022. She served as board chair from December 2022 through December 2025.
The new Crisis Care Center will provide a lasting connection between Commissioner Bedford’s legacy of public service and a project she worked passionately to bring to Orange County residents.
“Jamezetta believed deeply in the power of public service to change lives, and she never lost sight of the people behind the policies and decisions we made,” said Orange County Board Chair Jean Hamilton. “She was a champion for people who too often face barriers to care and opportunity, and she understood that our community needed a better response to behavioral health crises. Naming this facility in her honor is especially meaningful because she helped make this project possible. The Jamezetta Bedford Crisis Care Center will stand as a lasting reflection of her compassion, her leadership and her belief that every resident deserves the opportunity to thrive.”
Commissioner Bedford was an original member of the Crisis Diversion Facility Subcommittee and was one of the project’s primary driving forces. She advocated for a system of care in which people experiencing behavioral health crises could receive timely, compassionate support in a setting designed to meet their needs, rather than defaulting to emergency departments or the criminal justice system.
The crisis care center is currently under construction and will serve as a community-based resource for people experiencing behavioral health crises. The project supports Orange County’s broader efforts to improve behavioral health services, expand therapeutic interventions and provide alternatives that reduce reliance on emergency departments and the criminal justice system.
Throughout her public service, Bedford was a strong advocate for children, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, behavioral health resources and the broader needs of vulnerable residents. She served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness, Triangle West Transportation Planning Organization, Board of Social Services, Board of Health, Justice Advisory Council and the Behavioral Health Task Force.
Her service to Orange County began long before she joined the Board of Commissioners. She volunteered with the PTA at Ephesus Elementary beginning in 1993 and joined the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education in 2003. She also previously served as president of the Chapel Hill Area Unit of the Autism Society of North Carolina.
The Crisis Diversion Facility Subcommittee, which submitted the request to name the facility in Bedford’s honor, described the naming as a lasting tribute to a public servant whose leadership and compassion helped make the project possible. The subcommittee also highlighted Bedford’s lifelong advocacy for people with developmental disabilities and behavioral health needs, calling the facility dedicated to “dignity, hope, and healing” a fitting reflection of her legacy.
The Jamezetta Bedford Crisis Care Center will carry forward a central part of Bedford’s public service legacy: ensuring that residents experiencing some of their most difficult moments can receive care with dignity, compassion and hope.
About the Jamezetta Bedford Crisis Care Center
The crisis care center is expected to provide a safe, therapeutic, supportive environment for individuals experiencing behavioral health crises and serve as a key component of Orange County’s broader behavioral health infrastructure. The facility will reduce pressure on hospitals, the detention center, first responders, and other community response systems.
Construction completion is anticipated in winter 2027 and operations are expected to start in spring 2028.
Project Timeline
- Board Approval of GMP: June 2026
- Construction Began: August 2026
- Construction Completed: Winter 2027
- Facility Occupancy: Spring 2028
For information about the project visit Orangecountync.gov/crisisdiversion.
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