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Fighting Homelessness: Gov. Newsom Sets Sights on Mental Health, Addiction

“This past year, California has been able to move 58,000 individuals off our streets and into the housing and treatment they desperately needed,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom, adding that it will require a multi-pronged approach to end homelessness because the housing, medical and social needs of unhoused people vary.

Published

2 years ago

February 3, 2022

Oakland Post

Although the state makes up 12% (nearly 40 million residents) of the U.S. population, 27% of all homeless persons live in California.

By Antonio Ray Harvy, California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom says his administration is emphasizing combating drug addiction and mental illness as part of the state’s multi-year plan to solve California’s homelessness crisis — the worst in the country.

Newsom says focusing on those health needs of unhoused people is a component of his ongoing “Comeback Plan,” an effort launched last year to help the state recover from the economic and social impacts of the pandemic.

“This past year, California has been able to move 58,000 individuals off our streets and into the housing and treatment they desperately needed,” said Newsom, adding that it will require a multi-pronged approach to end homelessness because the housing, medical and social needs of unhoused people vary.

When Newsom presented his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2022-23 on Jan. 10, he asked the Legislature to approve $12 billion to support his housing strategy. About $3 billion of that amount would be spent on behavioral health housing, creating 44,0000 new housing units and treatment opportunities for people who are mentally ill. Another $2 billion would go to local governments in the form of flexible aid for housing programs, he said.

“The California Blueprint will double down on those efforts, focusing on clearing encampments, while also setting the groundwork for long-term systemic change with significant investments in mental health and substance abuse treatment to get vulnerable people off the streets.”

Black Californians are disproportionately homeless. Of the estimated 160,000 unhoused people in the state, more than 40% are African American.

Newsom said, in addition to several other measures like securing housing for students and veterans, his administration is currently considering a plan to move the state toward conservatorship for people who are mentally ill.

He did not give details about the program, but he said there is a possibility the state will begin entrusting the care of mentally ill people to individuals or institutions in the near future.

In 1967, when Ronald Reagan was governor of California, the State deinstitutionalized mentally ill patients after the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPSA) was passed and signed into law. California was one of the first states to deinstitutionalize mentally ill patients.

The number of mental patients occupying mental hospitals in California reached its highest point at 37,500 in 1959 when former Gov. Jerry Brown’s father, Edmund G. Brown, was governor. It dropped to 22,000 patients eight years later, according to a report by Chauvet Public Relations titled, “The History of Homelessness and Why We Can Do Better.”

Supporters of LPSA believed the law would provide protections for mental health patients and eliminate “the inappropriate, indefinite, and involuntary commitment of persons (to mental institutions) with mental health disorders,” the language of the bill reads.

LSPA critics say it inappropriately empowered mentally ill people to make important health care decisions for themselves when many of them had neither the will nor ability to do so.

When Reagan became president in 1980, he used the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) to repeal President Jimmy Carter’s Mental Health Systems Act, which funded federal mental health programs.

The OBRA gave mental patients the authority to make decisions about their treatment, including the options to seek care outside of a mental institution, get treatment at state-run clinics or the freedom to administer their own medication.

Last fall, the Newsom administration publicly let it be known that it is was leading the charge to provide solutions in the areas of low-income housing, mental health, and the state’s enduring homelessness problem.

In October, Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill (AB) 36, authored by Sen. Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles) when she was an assemblymember. The bill would have provided people experiencing homelessness access to health and social services outside the walls of a traditional medical clinic, including mobile clinics and shelter-based and other transitional housing-based health care.

According to Kamlager, AB 36 would have been the first law of its kind in the nation offering unhoused people Medi-Cal benefits without them having to share the cost.

Newsom’s letter explaining the veto says that the unhoused can already receive similar service through California’s Presumptive Eligibility program, which offers Medi-Cal and timely health care.

The bill was endorsed by 70 organizations and leaders across the state, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. In L.A. County, where over 66,000 people are homeless, African Americans make up 34% of that number although the total Black population is nearly 8%.

People of color in California experience some of the highest rates of homelessness in the nation. For example, nationally, 55 Black people experience homelessness out of every 10,000. In California, that number is 194 out of every 10,000.

Pacific Research Institute (PRI) a San-Francisco-based research think tank released a report in April 2021 that specified decreases of homelessness in major metropolitan areas such as New York City and Seattle.

The report, “No Way to End California’s Homelessness Crisis,” says that “Clearly, California is doing something wrong” in terms of finding solutions. Although the state makes up 12% (nearly 40 million residents) of the U.S. population, 27% of all homeless persons live in California, stated Kerry Jackson and Wayne Winegarden, the report’s authors.

According to Jackson and Winegarden, mental illness is one of the driving forces behind the California’s chronic homelessness problem.

But all hope is not lost, the researchers say.

“A new approach is needed. To cut through the state bureaucracy, California should rely on private efforts to minimize homelessness. Private organizations are typically better equipped than the government to make real differences in the lives of the homeless because they tailor programs to meet the specific needs of individual homeless and can adapt where the government cannot.”

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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City Government

Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Beverli Marshall began her first day with the City on April 10. ICMA image.

Special to The Post

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.

Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”

According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.

“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”

When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.

At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”

While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.

On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.

“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.

The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.

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City Government

Vallejo Community Members Appeal Major Use Permit for ELITE Charter School Expansion

Vallejo community members, former Solano County judge Paul Beeman and his wife Donna Beeman, filed an appeal against the approval of the Major Use Permit for the expansion of ELITE Public Schools into downtown less than two weeks after the Planning Commission approved the permit with a 6-1 vote.

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Vallejo community members have appealed the Major Use Permit for the ELITE Public Schools Charter high school expansion in the downtown area. Photo by Kinyon and Kim Architects, Inc.

By Magaly Muñoz

ELITE Charter School has been attempting to move into the downtown Vallejo area at 241-255 Georgia Street for two years, aiming to increase its capacity for high school students. However, a small group of residents and business owners, most notably the Beeman’s, have opposed the move.

The former county judge and his wife’s appeal alleges inaccuracies in the city’s staff report and presentation, and concerns about the project’s exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The Beeman’s stress that their opposition is not based on the charter or the people associated with it but solely on land use issues and potential impact on their business, which is located directly next to the proposed school location.

The couple have been vocal in their opposition to the expansion charter school with records of this going back to spring of last year, stating that the arrival of the 400 students in downtown will create a nuisance to those in the area.

During the Planning Commission meeting, Mr. Beeman asked Commissioner Cohen-Thompson to recuse herself from voting citing a possible conflict of interest because she had voted to approve the school’s expansion as trustee of the Solano County Board of Education. However, Cohen-Thompson and City Attorney Laura Zagaroli maintained that her positions did not create a conflict.

“I feel 100% that the attorney’s opinion is wrong,” Beeman told the Post.

He believes that Cohen-Thompson has a vested interest in upholding her earlier vote as a trustee and is advocating for people to ratify her opinion.

Cohen-Thompson declined to comment on the Post’s story and Zagaroli did not respond for comment.

The Beeman’s further argue that the school’s presence in the commercial district could deter future businesses, including those who sell alcohol due to proximity to schools.

According to Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC), the department can deny any retail license located within 600 feet of a school. Only one alcohol selling business is located within that range, which is Bambino’s Italian restaurant at 300 feet from the proposed location.

The project’s proponents argue that the school would not affect current or future liquor-selling establishments as long as they follow the ABC agency’s guidelines.

The Beeman’s also referenced Vallejo’s General Plan 2040, stating that the proposed expansion does not align with the plan’s revitalization efforts or arts and entertainment use. They argue that such a development should focus on vacant and underutilized areas, in accordance with the plan.

The proposed location, 241 Georgia Street aligns with this plan and is a two minute walk from the Vallejo Transit Center.

The General Plan emphasizes activating the downtown with, “Workers, residents, and students activate the downtown area seven days a week, providing a critical mass to support a ‘cafe culture’ and technology access, sparking innovation and entrepreneurship.”

City staff recommended exempting the project from CEQA, citing negligible impacts. However, Beeman raised concerns about increased foot traffic potentially exacerbating existing issues like theft and the lack of police presence downtown. He shared that he’s had a few encounters with kids running around his office building and disturbing his work.

Tara Beasley-Stansberry, a Planning Commissioner and owner of Noonie’s Place, told the Post that the arrival of students in downtown can mean not only opportunities for surrounding businesses, but can allow for students to find their first jobs and continue to give back to the community in revitalization efforts.

Beasley-Stansberry had advocated for the students at the March Commission meeting, sharing disappointment in the way that community members spoke negatively of the teens.

“To characterize these children as criminals before they’ve even graduated from high school, that’s when I had to really take a look and I was kind of lost as to where we were as a city and as a community to where I couldn’t understand how we were viewing these children,” Beasley-Stansberry told the Post.

She added that the commissioners who voted yes on the project location have to do what is right for the community and that the city’s purpose is not all about generating businesses.

ELITE CEO Dr. Ramona Bishop, told the Post that they have worked with the city and responded to all questions and concerns from the appropriate departments. She claimed ELITE has one of the fastest growing schools in the county with mostly Vallejo residents.

“We have motivated college-bound high school students who deserve this downtown location designed just for them,” Bishop said. “We look forward to occupying our new [location] in the fall of 2024 and ask the Vallejo City Council to uphold their Planning Commission vote without delay.”

The Vallejo City Council will make the final decision about the project location and Major Use Permit on April 23.