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Advocacy Results

FamiliesACT! provides direct services to individuals and families in crisis and advocates for change in our mental health.

 

Together we work to create effective treatment alternatives to the revolving door of incarceration, hospitalization, and homelessness routinely experienced by people with a range of mental illness disorders.

Jail Project 

The challenge

~ The jail is now the de facto mental health hospital

The result

~ Wellpath has taken over the management of jail healthcare and the quality of jail care has improved

~ Provided significant input to the Jail Chief and Wellpath regarding the design of the new jail base competency treatment program which was created in response to the jail being used for lack of treatment beds

~ Coordinated the continuation of monthly meetings with the grievance coordinator to monitor healthcare in our jail

~ Our Tuesday night group meetings grew in size (and continues to meet remotely) as a result of our jail table volunteers who provided multiple resources to jail visitors 

~ The full range of services which FamiliesACT! offers continues to grow, reaching a larger base of community leaders and families in need

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Treatment Beds and Housing Units The challenge

~ There is a huge gap between what exists and what is needed

~ Limited funding available

~ There are significant gaps at multiple levels of the continuum of care process

The result

~ Community Corrections Partners (CCP) set aside money for funding of beds

~ Several major grants have been received from the State of California 

~ Beds across the county as of June 2021:

32 beds - crisis residential centers

34 beds - Champion Center

80 beds - alcohol/drug residential centers 

Community Awareness

The challenge

~ Educating the public on the complexities that face those with mental illness and dually-diagnosed conditions and their families

The result

Community events bringing awareness include

~ Speaking before the Board of Supervisors 

~ Film Nights to initiate conversations about the high number of mentally ill in our homeless and jail populations

~ Open forum to heighten awareness of the death of our children in the streets because of mental illness and substance abuse

~ Suicide Awareness march on State Street

~ Participation in many committees inside of BeWell’s ~ Systems Change, often influencing decisions made by the Department

~ Luncheon series discussing a housing model and continuum of care for the mentally ill

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