On October 22, 1989 South Carolina Department of Mental Health had the lighting ceremony for the Star of Hope Park. It was a year in the making. The Star of Hope was Kay Spann-byrd's vision.  She created the Star of Hope to promote Hall Institution.  The purpose of the Star of Hope is to increase community awareness of the problems associated with mental illness and to help reduce the stigma surrounding it. Each point of the star represents one of the five client areas served by the hospital:   Child, Adolescent, Adult, Forensic and Geriatric

The Star of Hope serves as a visual symbol, that of 'calling together for a common purpose,' to motivate and form a bond of inspirational hope for the mentally ill. It is felt that it will bring about a rippling effect where clients will feel good about themselves, families will feel good about the clients' progress and staff will feel good about both.  This effect will promote a better atmosphere and greater desire for all involved to work together as a team to promote good mental health.

The park was built on a grass area between the Hall Institute and Colonial Drive. It was felt that this location would provide the greatest visibility for the community and clients as well. It is available for use by all clients, their family members and Hall Institute & USC-SM employees.

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This is a diagram of the Star of Hope Park: