LAKEPORT
Thompson announces Jennifer Strong chosen as Lake County Woman of the Year
Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) on Monday announced that Jennifer Strong was chosen as the 2022 Lake County Woman of the Year. Every year, Rep. Thompson selects inspiring women from California’s Fifth District to recognize their contributions and efforts over the last year.
After the 2015 Valley Fire, Jennifer Strong founded the Rotary Fire Relief fun and raised over $1 million to support fire survivors. Her efforts have made our recovery easier, and her leadership is inspiring,” said Thompson. “As a member of the Lakeport Rotary Club, she is known for organizing the Konocti Challenge which raises millions of dollars for Lake County. I am proud to recognize her as the 2022 Lake County Woman of the Year and I look forward to seeing what she continues to accomplish for our community.”
The Woman of the Year Recognition Ceremony was started in honor of Women’s History Month to recognize the service of women in our community.
A complete list of 2022 winners includes:
- Tina Wong (Contra Costa County)
- Jennifer Strong (Lake County)
- Betty Labastida (Napa County)
- ‘Betty Rhodes (Napa County)
- Hazel Wilson (Solano County)
- Lisa Diaz-McQuaid (Sonoma County)
- Elizabeth Quiroz (Sonoma County)
—Submitted
SACRAMENTO
Revamping the 911 response
Who do you call in a mental health crisis? For many people, the answer is 911 — but, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and a national reckoning over police use of force, an increasing number of California communities are trying a new approach: pairing law enforcement officers with behavioral health clinicians who can help respond to the mental illness, homelessness and substance abuse often underlying emergency calls, CalMatters’ Alexei Koseff reports.
The big question facing California — especially as the state prepares to launch a new mental health hotline and lawmakers consider Newsom’s proposal to force more mentally ill people into treatment — is whether such an approach will help vulnerable people access needed services while reducing fatal encounters with police.
As a case study, Alexei takes us to Nevada County, which launched its first mobile crisis team — a sheriff’s deputy plus a mental health clinician — in October 2020. Less than four months later, law enforcement officers shot and killed a distressed woman brandishing a knife. The mobile crisis team had been unavailable to respond to the incident.
Ernesto Alvarado, the clinician on the mobile crisis team, told Alexei there’s no guarantee the situation would have turned out differently if he’d been there: “I’m not a wizard. I can’t just wave my hand and calm everybody.”
Meanwhile, demand is growing for the mobile crisis team’s services: “We are the catch-all for everything,” said sheriff’s deputy Galen Spittler. “If someone doesn’t know how to fix something, we are the fixers.”
—Hoeven, CALMatters
