May 2024 Newsletter
Greetings D4 residents & friends -
May has come and gone and we are fast approaching the summer months of deliciously long days of sunshine, but first the Board of Supervisors must approve our budget for the new fiscal year which begins on July 1, 2024. I'll share some brief highlights from our 3 days of budget workshops and then from our regular May board meeting.
Budget Workshops
The three-days of budget workshop meetings offer critical visibility into the budget process as it creates space for board members to publicly review the County Executive’s proposed budget, ask questions of department heads, and better understand the recommended strategies to balance our $12.4 billion-dollar budget in the face of a looming $250 million structural deficit. A couple of important takeaways from my perspective:
- The Behavioral Health Services Department and partners across the County are maintaining and deepening our commitment to addressing the public health crisis in mental illness and substance use disorders, expanding beds, workforce and treatment slots. My office also funded an additional Trusted Response Urgent Support Team (TRUST) van through the inventory process, which is a vehicle for each Supervisor to grant funds to specific projects that aren’t otherwise funded in the County budget.
- The Office of Supportive Housing is expanding to better integrate homelessness prevention and crisis response efforts with interim and supportive housing methods to reduce the number of sheltered and unsheltered persons enumerated at a point-in-time.
- The Probation Department is leaning into ensuring access to education, jobs, housing, and health services, directly acknowledging that community safety does not happen through the justice system alone.
- Community health and safety and a focus on prevention and early intervention, as well as accessible childcare, remain my focal points for policy to ensure our children and families are safe and supported today, and that long term, we build more stable economies and a greater population of resident who live self-sufficiently and experience significantly less trauma of any kind.
- Preserving and expanding public safety will continue to be a top priority for me throughout the remainder of budget process, which will consist of three public hearings in June.
Board of Supervisors Meeting – May 21
Mental Health and Substance Use Public Health Crisis Report
The County continues to move forward expeditiously to expand our behavioral health and substance use treatment bed capacity, an effort I spearheaded with Supervisor Lee in January 2022 through a public health crisis declaration.The latest mental health and substance use quarterly report to BOS provides detail on the bed expansion effort, as well as information on other important behavioral health initiatives including Narcan distribution, CalAIM implementation, and the creation of same-day access to substance use treatment through a new Addiction Medicine Clinic expected to open next year.
Use of Force Report and TASERs in Santa Clara County
My colleagues and I considered the Sheriff’s Office’s request for approval of the use of TASERs and whether those weapons should be purchased for use by sheriff’s deputies either on patrol or in the county’s jails, or both.
After much discussion and debate, the board voted 4-1 (I dissented) in favor of seeking further information from the Sheriff. In what was an interesting juxtaposition of reports, at the same meeting the Sheriff also updated the Board on ‘use of force’ incidents reporting a 21.4% decrease in use of force incidents from 2022 to 2023 (77% of those incidents occurred in custody; the remainder in the field). Particularly at a time when use of force incidents are decreasing, which is a laudable accomplishment, arguing for additional weapons felt incongruous to me.
I appreciated Sheriff Jonsen’s thoughtful presentation of the TASER issue. He clearly thought through and attempted to pre-emptively address concerns. He answered questions without reserve and addressed some of the concerns voiced by the community. The Sheriff also champions programs including mindfulness and compassionate care in an effort to shift the culture of his office, particularly in custody, to one that is focused on the dignity and rehabilitation of individuals in custody. Under his leadership the College Promise program has blossomed, resulting in 19 college classes coordinated in collaboration with four community college districts with more than 600 participants who are seeking college certifications in communications studies, behavioral health work, hospitality management, business communication and more. With all of the good work going on to support officers, keep individuals safe, and reduce the likelihood of recidivism, adding the TASER weapon to the mix feels unnecessary and counter-productive to the otherwise strong positive direction of the Sheriff’s Office.
Podcast – Affordable Housing & 988 Crisis Response Center
This month’s podcasts pay homage to May being Affordable Housing Month as well as Mental Health Awareness Month. The first of the conversations is with Silicon Valley at Home Executive Director Regina Celestin Williams. Regina and I got together at one of the many new affordable housing locations, Vitalia Apartments on South Bascom, to discuss how SV@Home and our Office of Supportive Housing is working together to provide adequate housing for our residents.
The second episode features a discussion with Lan Nguyen and Jasmine Kuo of the 988 Crisis Response Center. Both guests have intense experience providing vital services to people experiencing a mental health crisis. Their patience, dedication and passion for mental health have uplifted the 988 Call Center to provide a non-law enforcement response for those in need.
You can listen to both episodes here or through the direct episode links below.
Blog Post
This month's blog post expands on the discussion at the May 21 Board of Supervisors Meeting regarding the usage of Tasers in Santa Clara County. Being the only one of my colleagues to dissent, I find it necessary to expand on my stance and shed some light on why I could not vote to forward the motion.
You can read the full blog post here.
Until next time, I wish you and your family a wonderful June. Please reach out if I or my team can be of use to you.
For regular updates on County efforts to end and prevent homelessness, visit the county’s Measure A page and the Community Plan to End Homelessness.