When San Jose dismantled its largest homeless encampment last summer, Mayor Matt Mahan praised moving hundreds of people out of Columbus Park into housing. However, residents said their experience in temporary housing has pulled them backward, not forward. One year after the city swept the 370 RVs that had congregated in Columbus Park, many people...
Santa Clara County funds suicide prevention despite budget cuts
Santa Clara County leaders are walking back a portion of proposed budget cuts to keep a pioneering suicide prevention program that’s contributed to one of the lowest death rates in all of California. At a Monday budget hearing, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to save two positions from being cut from the county program...
Santa Clara County public defenders crushed by caseloads
Santa Clara County public defenders have become a model for getting poor people out of jail before their trials. But their caseloads have exceeded national standards by staggering percentages and upcoming budget talks have the ability to plug an ongoing drain of attorneys. The county has lost 33 public defenders – who are constitutionally mandated...
Silicon Valley mental health crisis team at risk of losing funding
People are seeking out Santa Clara County’s non-police mental health crisis team more than any other response program. But it’s about to run out of money. County leaders are looking for ways to keep the Trusted Response Urgent Support Team (TRUST) program alive after state funding — which gave the program four years to evolve since launching...
San Jose State deaths raise mental health concerns
Editor’s note: The following story contains references to self harm and suicide. San Jose State University has seen two deaths by suicide within a month this year. The tragedies have opened a window into a paradox facing Silicon Valley cities and institutions: addressing public locations that result in self-harm without sparking a “contagion.” The university...
San Jose faces legal heat over mental health crisis calls
A group of civil rights organizations is ratcheting up the legal pressure on San Jose over longstanding complaints that too often mental health-related emergency calls receive a police response — rather than assistance from mental health professionals. In a recent letter to Mayor Matt Mahan, lawyers representing local police watchdog group Silicon Valley De-Bug allege...
Silicon Valley families say CARE Court has failed them
More than a year after Santa Clara County launched a new state-mandated program to treat people with severe mental illness, families claim the system has failed to help them. When CARE Court was first proposed, Gov. Gavin Newsom heralded it as the solution to treat thousands struggling from a serious mental illness through involuntary treatment....
San Jose skips housing offers for some homeless residents
In San Jose, how you get treated as a homeless person depends on where you end up on the streets. The city appears to be giving preferential treatment to homeless residents living in large encampments like Columbus Park and the reestablished Jungle in East San Jose, when it comes to outreach and offers of temporary...
Santa Clara County miffed at Newsom’s CARE Court criticism
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Santa Clara County needs to step up its game in treating people with severe mental health issues. County leaders and advocates disagree. At a news conference Monday, Newsom singled out the county as one of 10 that are not bringing enough people through the state-mandated CARE Court system — designed to...
Santa Clara County budget cuts to hit mental health services
Santa Clara County officials were in the throes of a mental health crisis four years ago and took action to expand treatment. That progress is about to be scaled back as the county confronts an extreme budget shortfall. The Behavioral Health Services Department faces a $100 million deficit in the coming fiscal year due to...