LAKEPORT >> Rep. Mike Thompson (D-4) met with Lake County Administrative Department directors Thursday to be apprised of priorities and how best to help with Congressional support he can summon to assist local causes.
Rachael Dillman Parsons, Social Serices director, pointed out her department’s challenges mirrors other departments, as California is confronted by a substantial state deficit, and looming cuts shall make service delivery difficult. “We try to figure out how to do more with less, is a recurring theme across departments,” she said. She was echoed by Wendy Mondfrans, chief probation officer. “We are looking to build housing for the homeless,” she said. “I’m going to ask the Board of Supervisors to approve our project for the next few weeks and there’s some funding coming in.”
Mireya Turner, Community Development Department director, has included a housing action implementation plan as part of the department’s climate adaptation plan. “Right now, my request is in regarding housing and homelessness,” she said. “With state funds drying up, we are competing for the same dollars. So, we’re looking for federal resources to support housing development.”
BOS Chair Bruno Sabatier noted he is also the chair of the Continuum of Care dealing with the unhoused and noted that it is difficult to trace accurately the number of homeless during the annual PIT counts, partly because many homeless reside in vacant or abandoned buildings and according to various entities undertaking a head count, numbers vary from hospitals citing 1,200 homeless, schools say 900 while the county tallied 307.
“We want to make changes, not give stuff away for free, but get these people into a productive lifestyle,” Sabatier said. “The funding available to be successful to make that change is difficult. What can we do at the county level to turn resolutions into Congressional bills? I want to make sure we are pushing for Lake County concerns,” he told Thompson. “An example, we got a resolution, hoping it’s a platform for enhancing of EMS reimbursement at rural rates. We are always looking for that increased number of programs and services.”|
Thompson explained he is a member of the Rural Caucus self-governing policy. The Rural Caucus is a bicameral, bipartisan caucus formed n 2003 to address policy concerns of rural communities, which in the past have been ignored or not prioritized in the state legislature. “Anything you get to me I’m sure will get a whole bunch of additional support,” he assured Sabatier.
For homelessness, the sum allocated by federal, state and counties is not adequate to deal with all the symptoms manifested Thompson noted. The county needs to find out why this happens and the District can help raise funds and address it at the source.
Elise Jones, Lake County Behavioral Health director, noted allocation-based grants provided a disproportionate support to Los Angeles County and the Bay Area Counties, while smaller counties are forced to compete for a more diminished pot of funds. Jones expressed wonder at why the state would believe it is less expensive to build health facilities in Lake County than it would be in Los Angeles County, conceding it might be a little more expensive in Southern California; and also puzzled why the state would allocate less for Lake County, while pressure builds for this county to meet the demand for services.
Jones explained there is already a significant amount of research on brain disorders, but Thompson countered it is way short, yet Jones respectfully disagreed, while noting it has occurred for decades. “I believe the root of the homelessness crisis is an affordability crisis,” Jones said. “People don’t lose their housing just because of one thing that they have a mental illness. They lose their housing because there is a lack of a social network. They don’t have the ability to make rent.”
She went on to state that there has been an initiative since last October to raise the minimum wage, particularly the successful legislation boosting fast food workers’ pay, in an effort to remediate those structural issues. “But it is also true, Walmart has 50% of its employees on public aid,” she said. “So, we have taxpayers subsidizing corporations while the rest of the population scrambles to figure out, how to pay for everything.”
Thompson acknowledged it has always been an issue but implored Jones to not undersell the need for brain disorder research. “I’m working with the Staglin Foundation,” he said.
Influenced by their son Brandon’s schizophrenia diagnosis, Shari and Garen Staglin launched One Mind in 1995 to bridge the gaps that they saw in mental health research funding and patient support. Since then, One Mind has become the leading brain health nonprofit committed to healing the lives of people impacted by brain illness through global, collaborative action.
“They are able to lead to a pretty good outcome and will do more of it,” said. Thompson.
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