Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Center

The Fuller is a combination mental hospital and administrative hub for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. Michelle may get you laughing for the crappy décor and the «feeling that you are in a mental hospital,» but what about the poor people – such as myself – who have had no place else to turn during a psychiatric emergency? Does Michelle think our color sense is offended as well?
Code Purples are not necessarily acts of patient violence. Mostly, they are cries for help from people who are desperately suffering.
I think Michelle should thank the Lord she has insurance that covers her in the event she has a psychiatric emergency. Then she can go to McLean, where the décor is better, and the doctors are, too.
It’s entirely beyond me why Michelle objects to the Fuller’s feeling like a mental hospital when it *is* a mental hospital. Not a very good one, but the only option available for some people.
Everyone else, do your best to get to one of the Harvard-​affiliated hospitals. The Fuller Crisis Intervention Unit is run sort of like a prison. Not the best atmosphere in which to recuperate.

The Solomon would make a lousy hotel. In some ways it looks and feels like a parking garage.
That aside, I think there are some very good services and people inside.
The Fuller provides services to people who generally are low income and marginalized.
If it feels at all like a mental hospital, it might be because there are some inpatient units in the building. Also, a code purple means a psychiatric emergency-​not all psych emergencies involve violence (most patients aren’t violent).
Also, I’ve visited the Boston Resource Center (ground floor) and they have great program for people with disabilities.

A few years ago, City Hall was ranked as one of the world’s ugliest buildings. Well folks, CLEARLY the people who compiled this list had not visited the Fuller Building.
Here are just some of its many attributes:
1. Kelly green elevators. For some reason, they thought that this color would have a calming effect on patients. I’m pretty sure it has the opposite effect. Did I mention that occasionally the elevators drop down a few inches as you are boarding?
2. Bright orange hallways.
3. Windows that do not open and are darkly tinted. Because who needs sunshine, anyways?
4. Inconsistent heating/​cooling. In one wing of my department, it is always about 60 degrees. In another, it is always about 75 degrees.
5. Intercom announcements every 3 minutes. Usually about illegally parked cars.
6. Random acts of patient violence (Code purples)
7. The feeling of isolation. Offices are compartmentalized in long hallway suites. You are lucky if you encounter more than 3 human beings a day.
8. The feeling that you are in a mental hospital.
I’m pretty sure this place makes people crazier the longer they are here.
This building has some redeemable qualities:
1. Larry, and his breakfast. The cafeteria downstairs has very cheap food, and the vast majority of it is not very good for you. But if you are in the mood for something greasy and tasty, this is your place.
2. The outdoor seating area, with picnic tables, benches, and the occasional tree.
3. SOME of the building employees are really nice once you get to know them.