• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) hosted a virtual event alongside California Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-San Francisco) and state mental health experts to celebrate the new 988 suicide and crisis lifeline’s establishment with the recent signing of Assembly Bill 988, which will provide enhanced resources to the state to help combat the rising mental health crisis, according to a Nov. 3 statement from the senator’s office. “For years, we’ve been fighting to end the stigma around mental health care and to get Californians the support they need; 988 is a national suicide and crisis lifeline that launched last summer to help anyone in California and across the country get connected to resources,” Padilla said in the statement. “This accessible care will save lives. We’re making big progress, but it’s clear this fight is not over—we need to do more to help low-income and underserved communities, especially for the schools and students who still lack the resources they need.” As of Nov. 3, Congress has provided more than $15 billion to California through the American Rescue Plan—which Padilla supported—to help California school districts respond to the educational challenges caused by the pandemic. He’s also introduced mental health-related legislation including the Comprehensive Mental Health in Schools Pilot Program to fund new programs in primary and secondary schools to address mental and behavioral health issues.
• The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department announced Noemi “Mimi” Doohan as the medical director for the county’s health care centers effective Oct. 31, according to a statement from the Public Health Department. Doohan will direct 25 staff physicians, eight advanced practice practitioners, and 24 contracted specialists delivering care at the county’s five federally qualified health centers and three shelter-based clinics to serve the homeless. She joins Santa Barbara County with 20 years of experience in the medical field and is experienced in all aspects of primary care as a family medicine provider and leader in private practice, rural and tribal clinics, urgent care, hospitalist medicine, street medicine, corrections, global health, and medical education. “We are thrilled that Dr. Doohan will be our medical director leading the exceptional health centers physicians, clinicians, and quality teams and as we pivot from pandemic footing back into our privileged role as a key provider in our county’s Health Care Safety Net Delivery System,” Dana Gamble, deputy director of the Primary Care and Family Health Division, said in the statement. “Dr. Doohan brings extensive experience in all aspects of health care and is exceptionally well equipped to guide our health care teams in providing excellent care to our patients.”
• Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he will convene local leaders in mid-November to review the state’s collective approach to homelessness and identify new strategies to better address the growing homelessness crisis, according to a Nov. 3 statement from the governor’s office. Until this convening, the state will hold off on providing the remaining third round of the $1 billion Homelessness, Housing, Assistance, and Prevention grants. “Californians demand accountability and results, not settling for the status quo,” Newsom said in the statement. “As a state, we are failing to meet the urgency of this moment. Collectively, these plans set a goal to reduce street homelessness 2 percent statewide by 2024. At this pace, it would take decades to significantly curb homelessness in California—this approach is simply unacceptable. Everyone has to do better—cities, counties, and the state included. We are all in this together.” In total, the current plans result in just a 2 percent decrease of homelessness over four years statewide. Newsom said the meeting in mid-November will aim to coordinate the state’s jurisdictions on an approach that will deliver more substantial results. This meeting will be an opportunity for community leaders to learn from one another about what works, as well as to identify barriers that inhibit progress, according to the governor’s office.
This article appears in Nov 10-17, 2022.
