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Greetings, D4 residents -
Late August is back-to-school month for so many of you; I hope it is going smoothly for students & parents alike!
August has been a busy month with fun filled events around District 4. We started the month with National Night Out, a night to celebrate community members and their families. Over the course of the evening, I was able to stop by 4 neighborhood events and appreciate being so warmly welcomed at every gathering! My office attended a Winchester Orchard Neighborhood Association Clean Up and BBQ that was a blast. I was invited by PATH to meet with community members in a Villas on the Row Community Meeting. I spoke at the Early Learning Apprenticeship Program Kick Off Event hosted by FIRST 5 of Santa Clara County and attended the Womxn’s Equality Event hosted by the Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women. This past Saturday we held our monthly sidewalk office hours, Food 4 Thought, at the Santa Clara Farmers’ Market. My team and some of our family members walked in the Silicon Valley Pride parade and spent the afternoon chatting with folks from around the region. It was a beautiful event filled with love and acceptance. Finally, I spoke to the Rotary of San Jose about the public health crisis of mental illness & substance use disorders and how the County must urgently respond.
Beyond community events, August was a busy month for policy work. In addition to working toward an expansion of our continuum of care for mental health & substance use disorders, I focused on the needs of older children, teens and transitional age youth.
The phrase “Nothing About Us without Us” captures the perspective we need to adopt when designing systems allegedly to support particular groups of individuals. Check out this month’s medium post where I argue for implementation of juvenile justice-involved youth’s recommendations for improvement of the court school system.
I introduced a referral that was unanimously accepted by my colleagues to support a cohort of unhoused teens who are finishing up high school with three months of income (funded through a state pilot program initiated by Senator Dave Cortese) to allow them to settle into their next phase of post-secondary education, apprenticeship programs, trade schools or work opportunities.
Finally, I am looking to nominate a new member to serve on the County’s Behavioral Health Board (BHB). The BHB meets monthly to advise the Board of Supervisors and County staff on mental health and substance use treatment issues and is comprised of people who have received treatment (consumers), family members, and people with knowledge of the behavioral health system including healthcare providers, judges and social workers. Our current vacancy is for a person who has received mental health or substance use treatment services, ideally through the County system. If you meet this criterion are willing to serve on the BHB please check out the BHB website for more information or access the application here. Feel free to contact my office with any questions.
The Public Health Department has established a webpage dedicated to information and guidance related to M-Pox, which you can access here.
As we return to in-person gatherings, please feel free to send an invitation to my office for me to attend your neighborhood or community event. I enjoy engaging with residents and look forward to seeing you all soon.
I am on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Nextdoor and LinkedIn. There you can find resources, news and events.
As always, if you have questions, comments, and/or concerns, email me at [email protected].
I and my team are here for you.
Be well,
Susan
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