Santa Clara County Local News: Crisis & Personal Support


All Local Crisis & Personal Support News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: The California mental health crisis is tied to both homelessness and rising crime.
UPDATE: California’s Mental Health Crisis: How We Got Here

How the California mental health crisis emerged out of the state’s history of deinstitutionalization and laws designed to protect the mentally ill, as well as the communities around them.

Image caption: Kerry Wood, CEO of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, says the organization researches areas of need to help donors direct their contributions.
What Is a Community Foundation?

By channeling funds to a number of nonprofits working on various issues in a given region, community foundations help solve big problems throughout California.

Image caption: Many organizations in Santa Clara County can lend a helping hand.
Finding Peace of Mind

Feeling stressed? Confused? Or just a little blue? Help is just a phone call away for residents of Santa Clara County.

Image caption: California will soon be getting a new hotline number as an alternative to 911 for mental health crises.
988, the New Mental Health Emergency Number, Explained

California will soon add a new emergency hotline service with the number 988. Here’s the story behind that new service, and the original 911 number.

San Jose Spotlight logo From San Jose Spotlight...

01/15/2025
Image for display with article titled San Jose Officials Rally to Fund Immigrant Protection Groups

Latino members of the San Jose City Council are calling for more funding for undocumented immigrant protections as the incoming presidential administration threatens to ramp up deportations.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/09/2025
The state’s plan to fix the insurance crisis had barely rolled out when the Los Angeles fires began. Can the market recover and stabilize?

California Local Pin Marker From Local News Matters...

12/12/2024
Santa Clara County’s new mental and behavioral health court, designed to voluntarily steer people into treatment plans, recently began operation.The county’s Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court, or CARE Court, provides plans for people with untreated “psychotic-type” disorders for up to two years under the supervision of a civil court, according to county officials.

San Jose Spotlight logo From San Jose Spotlight...

11/16/2024
Image for display with article titled Santa Clara County Launches TRUST Direct Crisis Hotline

After some trial and error, Santa Clara County just made it easier to request a non-police response for someone in mental health crisis.

San Jose Spotlight logo From San Jose Spotlight...

06/21/2024
Image for display with article titled San Jose Advocates Want More Money for Non-Police Crisis Team

San Jose officials plan to allocate additional funding toward mental health services in the upcoming budget, after advocates pushed for more non-police emergency response.

San Jose Spotlight logo From San Jose Spotlight...

04/24/2024
Image for display with article titled Domestic Violence Cases Overwhelm Silicon Valley Prosecutors

Santa Clara County is experiencing a surge of domestic violence cases, spreading county prosecutors thin and holding up court hearings at a time when a looming budget deficit will cut District Attorney resources.

California Local Pin Marker From EdSource...

04/09/2024
These professionals provide essential services, but their pay and working conditions do not reflect their value, and their health suffers.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

03/29/2024
Image for display with article titled California May Gut Two CalWORKS Programs Helping Thousands of Families

The state is considering zeroing out funds for CalWORKS family stabilization and job subsidy programs to help balance the budget.

California Local Pin Marker From CapPublicRadio...

02/27/2024
The monthly rate of antidepressants being dispensed to young people increased about 64% more quickly during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics.

California Local Pin Marker From California Healthline...

02/26/2024
Health providers and addiction experts warn the funding structure is unstable for a California initiative that steers patients with substance use disorder into long-term treatment.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

02/08/2024
Image for display with article titled Why Are Tech Billionaires Apologizing? Lawmakers Now Calling for Regulation of Social Media

CEOs of Instagram, Snapchat tell parents at Senate hearing they’re sorry for deaths of children.

Morgan Hill Times logo From Morgan Hill Times...

01/31/2024
Image for display with article titled Treatment, Funding, Legislation and More Discussed at Opioid Forum

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta gathered leaders from Santa Clara County, San Jose and health organizations together for a discussion on the growing opioid epidemic.

California Local Pin Marker From Los Angeles Times...

01/31/2024
Gov. Gavin Newsom crafted the measure to reform California’s mental health system, including a $6.4-billion bond for new facilities.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/29/2024
A pending bill would extend the so-called 5150 confinement authority to county-designated psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, and clinical counselors.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/28/2024
The March ballot measure would raise billions for mental health care, but some clinics fear it would strip them of revenue they need for services they provide today.

California Local Pin Marker From California Healthline...

01/23/2024
In the year and a half since its launch, 988—the country’s easy-to-remember suicide and crisis hotline—has received about 8.1 million calls, texts, and chats. Curiosity is growing about the people taking those calls.

California Local Pin Marker From Santa Cruz Sentinel...

01/19/2024
At the Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, scientists are eager to explore whether a psychedelic chemical found in a toad could help people with depression. But research has been put on hold by the state.

Los Gatan logo From Los Gatan...

01/15/2024
Image for display with article titled Los Gatos Agrees to Put $50K Extra into Disability Plan

As the town prepares to bring forward a comprehensive disability infrastructure plan, the council agreed to top its consultant up with an additional $50,000.

Metro Silicon Valley logo From Metro Silicon Valley...

01/09/2024
Image for display with article titled Downtown Fire 3 Years Later

Upwards of 80 firefighters arrived to contain the downtown San Jose structure fire on the morning of January 7, 2021. Three years later, the public still awaits answers.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

01/08/2024
Image for display with article titled As Landlords Press for More Evictions, Getting a Lawyer Makes All the Difference For Tenants

As evictions skyrocket with landlords taking advantage of lifted pandemic restrictions, tenants fight for the right to an attorney.