Taylor O'Connor

toconnor@santamariasun.com
Posted inNews

Shifting services

Santa Barbara and SLO counties’ behavioral health departments could see changes to programs if Proposition 1 passes
by Samantha Herrera and Taylor O'Connor

California voters will vote on Proposition 1 in March, which could change local behavioral wellness program funding and structure.  The multi-pronged legislation attempts to modernize the 2004 Mental Health Services Act (MHSA)—a personal income tax measure that established the current structure of county behavioral wellness programs—and add a $6.4 billion bond measure to build 10,000 […]

Posted inNews

State gives Guadalupe flood protection baskets

by Taylor O'Connor

Guadalupe has new tools at its disposal to help prevent flooding during winter storms, thanks to its partnership with Santa Barbara County.  In 2023, historic rainfall caused the Santa Maria River to veer off its natural course—flooding Guadalupe’s Pioneer Street, the wastewater treatment plant, and farmland. After a months-long effort to get federal and state […]

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Cost of living

Santa Maria city employees, firefighters want more money than the city is bargaining for
by Taylor O'Connor

Santa Maria firefighter Shea Weidler has lived in a van since October because he can’t afford housing costs with the salary he makes.  “As a 30-year-old, you see yourself owning a home and more stable, but when you’re living in a van, living paycheck to paycheck, it kind of wears on you,” Weidler said. “While […]

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Board of Supervisors unanimously approve funding new CalFresh positions

by Taylor O'Connor

Facing a 69 percent increase in CalFresh caseloads from 2016 to 2023 while staffing increased just 28 percent, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved 86 new CalFresh positions for the county’s Social Services Department. “For years our funding in the CalFresh program has been constrained by policies in the early 2000s, which […]

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Santa Barbara County’s Partners in Education is looking for Santa Maria professionals to help with job readiness program

by Taylor O'Connor

Erika Terrazas participated in Partners in Education’s Job Readiness Training and Internship Program when she was in high school in 2010. And now, as the nonprofit’s program services manager, she’s recruiting professionals in Santa Maria to volunteer for the same job readiness program she did 14 years ago, she told the Sun.  “From experience, it’s […]

Posted inSpecial Issues

Health & Wellness 2024

Music therapy as medicine and the benefits of being around horses
by Adrian Vincent Rosas and Taylor O'Connor

For this year’s issue of Health and Wellness, we decided to focus on therapy—not traditional therapy, though. We explored a couple of outside-the-box approaches. Staff Writer Adrian Vincent Rosas from the Sun’s sister paper, New Times, chatted with a certified music practitioner about how she uses her tunes to help individuals going through difficult medical […]

Posted inSpecial Issues

Healing through horsemanship

Central Coast nonprofits offer equine therapy as a way to work through trauma and mental illness and to manage disabilities
by Taylor O'Connor

More than a ride Visit heroeshorses.org, call (805) 868-7634 or email info@heroeshorses.org for more information about Healing Horses Through Horsemanship. Visit syvtherapeuticriding.org, call (805) 350-2280, or email info@syvtherapeuticriding.org for more information about the Santa Ynez Therapeutic Riding Program. Keenan Hartig struggled with substance abuse and lost his employment a month and a half before finding […]

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