Sacramento County Crisis & Personal Support Digest

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to overhaul how California counties pay for behavioral health care is one step closer to going before voters in March—over heavy opposition from patient advocates, service providers and local government officials.

Gov. Gavin Newsom promised $95 million would help undocumented workers rebuild after winter storms and floods. Months later, $18 million is being doled out and there are translation issues with the state’s website.

The first annual Stephon Clark Minority Mental Health Expo, organized by Stephon’s brother Stevante Clark, brought together dozens of advocates, leaders and professionals to raise awareness of the importance of mental health in minority communities.

How bad is California hunger? A lot depends on your access to food aid, which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but is being reduced.

The Biden administration’s app rule makes it harder for migrants to assert a right to asylum, advocates say. Lawsuits are sparking debate about immigration control, safety.

The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s 988 hotline marked its one-year milestone this month. Mental health experts say the three-digit number made help more accessible than before.

Some hospitals in Southern California have a nurse vacancy rate of 30 percent, stressing overworked staff and causing some to leave the industry earlier than they planned.

Despite efforts by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to shelter more than 14,000 people this year, the city's homeless population keeps growing. That does not necessarily mean her signature program is failing. The larger question: How does California measure success?

Older adults make up the fastest-growing share of California’s homeless population. To meet their needs locally, Sacramento County opened Nottoli Place, a small shelter for adults ages 60 and up.

Today tribal leaders, local law enforcement and lawmakers gathered to learn how the a new tool—the Feather Alert—will work to help law enforcement quickly notify the public about missing Native Americans and enlist their aid.

Medi-Cal is changing how it pays mental health providers. Many of those providers say they may no longer be able to afford peer support specialists, home visits and other services.

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California launched the California Immigration Detention Database, a tool to track complaints filed by immigrants in California detention facilities to seek redress against inhumane conditions.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the analysis that revealed significant variations in the prevalence of diagnosed depression , ranging from an estimated 12.7% in Hawaii to 27.5% in West Virginia.

WellSpace Health is a nonprofit organization in Sacramento, Placer and Amador counties. The organization provides comprehensive medical, dental, behavioral health, and supportive services to more than 110,000 low-income and underserved patients each year.

After unanimously clearing the Senate, a bill expanding first responders' access to workers’ comp for PTSD moves to the Assembly.

With more and more residents voicing concern about Galt's homeless population, a new Mobile Crisis Team has been formed to deal with mental health situations. A Sacramento County social worker and Galt police officer recently shared recent developments.

Mark Jackson, CEO and founder of St. Martin Foundation, hopes to help build a facility to house homeless men in Elk Grove. His mission is to reduce homelessness among males transitioning from alcohol addiction recovery programs or incarceration.

State Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton has been appointed chair of the state Senate's health committee. A licensed social worker, Eggman said she will make mental health care and homelessness front-burner issues.

The Galt Joint Union Elementary School District is applying to stock the anti-opioid overdose medicine for students and staff.

Even as fentanyl overdoses among young people have skyrocketed, health education remains optional in most California schools. “Prevention is not always prioritized,” says Dareen Khatib, co-chair of the California Health Education Community of Practice.

With so many students requiring mental health support and school districts confronting mental health clinician shortages, local organizations are stepping up to bridge the gap for students of color.

LGBTQ foster youth in California have a greater likelihood of being undereducated, unemployed and becoming homeless compared to their heterosexual peers. But the future doesn’t have to look like this.

Yolo County Superior Court Judge Tim Fall wrote a book about dealing with anxiety and depression. His reason for writing: “When it comes to public officials you just don’t hear of people who admit having some sort of mental health diagnosis.”

Former Elk Grove school board member Alex Joe plans to run for the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors District 5 seat in this June’s primary election.

Paul Switzer was one of the estimated 1.24 million Californians trying to cope with serious mental illness. In late September 2021, he was hospitalized after being beaten ... and then arrested by Nevada County sheriff’s deputies. Eight days later he was dead.

The Substance Use Respite and Engagement center has helped more than 450 people in its first year, many of them homeless residents of Sacramento.

At the Oct. 27 Elk Grove City Council meeting, city officials acknowledged problems with flooding in the Silverado Village subdivision and the adjacent Quail Ranch subdivision.

When Smash Sacramento opened in 2018, its army veteran owner was expecting it to appeal to men. Three years in, the majority of its clientele is actually women.

According to a Sacramento Bee analysis of county coroner data, illicit fentanyl contributed to the death of 95 people last year—nearly a three-fold increase compared with 2019. And the death toll hasn’t slowed in 2021.

About 100,000 Sacramento Municipal Utility District residential customers are behind on paying either part or all of their electric bills, according to CFO Jennifer Davidson. That’s out of roughly 564,000 residential customers SMUD serves, or nearly 18 percent.

The outpouring of recognition for Galt Police Department officer Harminder Grewal continued Sept. 2 at a candlelight vigil on the California State Capitol steps. Leaders in government and the local Sikh community spoke about the significance of Grewal’s service.

Galt is holding vigil in front of the police department in honor of two police officers who were seriously injured on the way to provide security at a site of the Caldor Fire.