The Concord City Council is set to discuss expanding the Coordinated Outreach Referral and Engagement (CORE) homeless outreach team from half-time to full-time, and the creation of a new Mental Health Evaluation Team to work full-time within Concord.
Contra Costa County’s CORE teams connect with homeless people to provide or arrange basic need services and secure permanent housing.
Since early 2017, Concord and Walnut Creek have shared a CORE team. Concord now is considering its own full-time unit.
For about two years, Concord has been part of a Mental Health evaluation Team Program operated by Contra Costa Health Services. That team provides provides connections to appropriate outpatient mental health services. It provides support, referrals and safety planning to family members as deemed appropriate.
The estimated cost of expanding the CORE team in Concord is about $100,000; the anticipated cost for the Mental Health Evaluation Team program for Concord is between $400,000 to $450,000.
Funding sources haven’t been identified for either program.
Tonight’s council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., and will be held via Zoom.
33 comments
Yes please help the homeless and get them off the streets and canals. There are more than ever and it is obvious more needs to be done. And as a taxpayer, I don’t want to look at that constantly.
How about you stop enabling them? Stop throwing money at the problem? Stop! Stop. Stop throwing OUR money at them. CA is a lure for the homeless.
Keep bowing down to these people. Once these mental health people get funded, what do they complain about next? What happens when one of these crazy people go and kill or hurt one of these counselors? You can’t talk down crazy or schizo with a weapon.
Who are these Mental Health Counselors going to call when the crap hits the fan? The POLICE!!!!
You can’t reason with crazy. Thanks ACLU.
Or you know, we can all work together as a team? Officer is there to protect and the counselor is there to deescalate and talk. Force should ALWAYS be a last resort. You lose nothing from talking but some time.If other countries can do it why can’t America? Or are we too violent and horrible as a people to expect better? I don’t think we are, so let’s expect better.
pyrrhus – force is ALWAYS an option, with the first level being officer presence, and the second being talking with the subject.
Deadly force is the last option…..
Maybe talk to an officer about use of force techniques (wheel or ladder of force). Learn before you speak…
finally something constructive.
Go Concord City council!
Hopefully this will mean less police involvement in mental health crises.
Just don’t raise my taxes.Fix the roads and hire more police to clean up the city crime.And if you need more money cut the Salaries of the Politicians that make these decisions.
Time to buy another motel 6
Bill is right. And I bet the funds will be wasted.
gosh i wonder if they will raise taxes???
How many homeless are in Concord?
So CORE contracts with a few cities you call them they pick up the homeless person and bring them to the Concord facility. In the morning it was my understanding they were to take them back to the area or city where they were picked up. I was told they don’t have the staff so all they do is release everyone in the morning which is why Concord has such a large homeless population. I think this program has been a failure and throwing more money at it is a waste. They need long term mental care which no one is giving.
Oh cool, Concord residents are having their tax dollars used to import homeless people? That’s awesome.
Build it and they will come.
The Concord Shelter is closed.
Some facts worth looking at: Public Law 88-164 – Oct. 1963 JFK signs the Community Mental Health Act, which pushes the responsibility of mentally ill patients from the state toward the federal government. JFK wanted to create a network of community mental health centers where mentally ill people could live in the community while receiving care. Less than one month after signing the new legislation, JFK is assassinated. He doesn’t see the plan through The community mental health centers never receive stable funding and even 15 years later less than half the promised centers are built.
1967-Ronald Reagan -Governor of California -Number of patients in state hospitals had fallen to 22,000. His administration used the decline
as a reason to make cuts to the Department of Mental Hygiene. Cutting 2,600 jobs and 10 percent of the budget despite reports showing the hospitals were already below recommended staffing levels.
He then signs the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act and ends the practice of institutionalizing patients against their will, or for indefinite amounts of time. Sadly, the care outside state hospitals was inadequate. one years later, study shows the number of mentally ill people entering San Mateo’s criminal justice system doubles.
1969 – Regan reverses earlier budget cuts, increases spending on the Department of Mental Hygiene by a record $28 million.
1973 -Number of patients in California State Hospitals falls to 7,000.
1980- President Jimmy Carter signs the Mental Health Systems Act to improve on Kennedy’s dream.
1981- President Reagan repeals Carter’s legislation with the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which pushes the responsibility of mentally ill patients back to the states. The legislation creates block grants for the states, but federal spending on mental illness declines.
Bella, excellent historical summary- I wonder, why the numbers in the institutions “fell”… I don’t wonder why the Feds/ states were manipulating funding… although NAMI, AOT and the municipal PDs are doing excellent jobs- their hands are tied by State Laws… everyone is suffering: communities, families, and most of all, the folks with these often treatable mental disorders. Again, our taxes our being wasted by enabling dangerously people… they need help- no one is organizing –
Sounds like Newsome’s plan for prison. Reduce criminal sentencing by changing the laws so serious crimes don’t result in jail time since they “aren’t” crimes anymore. Suddenly the prison population is magically reduced, crime has gone downd, and law enforcement doesn’t require the funding anymore.
Newsome is already doing it to juvenile offenders. His plan is to eradicate juvenile detention by the end of his term and he glosts about how he’s already “reduced” juvenile crime.
It hasn’t gone away. It’s just being re-labled and not criminally charged so the hyper violent youth can still roam the streets while we are told “they don’t exist.”
We have a severely ill 68 year old BiPolar I family member. He has been on the streets of the Bay Area for four excruciating years. No one can reason with him because that part of his brain is affected.
Until California’s laws are changed to allow families to conserve these helpless souls, they will continue to be a danger to themselves, others and ruin our communities by committing crimes. Please lobby for change to fix a desperately broken mental health system. Being housed and fed has actually worsened his illness – he has NO reason to go back on his mood stabilizers and antipsychotic meds. I know Californians are suffering, but please let’s raise awareness of the CAUSES and treatments for the ill and for society. This situation is an inhumane disgrace. Throwing money at it is making it worse.
When these new programs are announced it would be nice to also announce which antiquated programs are cut to pay for the new program. We never hear about programs that are eliminated.
Concord where Homeless come first
They are fighting for that position with the ilegals.
I’ll update…Concord where Homeless come first and Illegal’s come in second.
How about getting their family’s involved?
FBN – We can’t “Get involved” – we would be violating “THEIR Rights” to terrorize our communities, their families,…. it’s a unspeakable nightmare… and the State & Feds are enabling THIIS pandemic … I don’t know why…
Well first of all you’ll have to deal with the stigma. AND obviously a new peer group CAN make all the difference. PERIOD.
Discuss?
That means the deal is done.
They do this all the time.
You keep electing the same people, they keep spending your money and demanding more.
Yes, excellent idea. There seem to be so many people out there nowadays that need help. The environment really takes a toll with all the garbage and excrement. These people need help 👍
Thank you Eva and to all. As as former member of law enforcement, married to an ex peace officer, now deceased, from San Francisco, my best friend’s God daughter the Mayor of San Francisco currently, I only say, as you know, Mental Illness and those we love/aka our adult children is a crap shoot.
My precious son was on Who’s who of all High Schools in the US, all A’s traveled twice to Europe, then attended CU Boulder ready to start International Studies, when he started drinking, getting in accidents, we never knew why. Doctors in Boulder the best, but—
Will be visiting my best friend Monique in Marin County in October to catch up, who is Godmother to Mayor Breed. No matter one’s political beliefs at this point, let’s all be kind.
Can’t wait to see how many mental health counselors can make it through a graveyard shift without falling asleep or going without a meal or coffee.
Will the mental health worker be able to stomach the bloody scenes resulting from some of these calls? Will they legally be able to counsel adolescents who are under age? So many questions.
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