Governor Newsom participates in ride-along with the Fresno joint City-County homeless outreach and crisis response teams
Administration is hosting CARE Court roundtables around the state with health care and service providers, impacted Californians, local and judicial officials, and other stakeholders
March 18, 2022 - FRESNO – Governor Gavin Newsom’s Administration on Thursday visited a health and wellness center in Fresno and hosted a roundtable to discuss the new CARE Court proposal. Unveiled by the Governor earlier this month, and following the inaugural roundtable in Los Angeles last week, CARE Court is a new policy framework for providing community-based mental health and substance use disorder treatment services to Californians with the most acute challenges, many of whom are experiencing homelessness.
Earlier in the day, Governor Newsom participated in a ride-along with the Fresno joint City-County homeless outreach and crisis response teams to get first-hand experience of their work.
“The lived experience of folks struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues shines a light on the need for a paradigm shift away from the current status quo,” said Governor Newsom. “There’s nothing compassionate about continuing to allow the current cycle of homelessness and incarceration to continue. My Administration will continue hosting CARE Court roundtables across the state listening to impacted Californians and stakeholders about their experiences and needs.”
The Newsom Administration convened today’s roundtable at the Fresno County Health and Wellness Center. Today’s roundtable is the second in a series of statewide convenings that the Administration will host, bringing together Californians who would benefit from the new framework, health care providers, first responders, outreach workers, representatives from the courts, local officials and other stakeholders.
Governor Newsom participates in ride-along with the Fresno joint City-County homeless outreach and crisis response teams
“Fresno County is grateful for the opportunity to welcome Governor Newsom and Secretary Ghaly to Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health and our Fresno community as they continue to listen to stakeholder perspectives on CARE Court,” said Susan Holt, LMFT, Interim Director of Behavioral Health Department and Public Guardian. “We look forward to highlighting our crisis response and outreach services. We are hopeful that the CARE Court framework will support our efforts engaging and serving persons with behavioral health needs.”
“On behalf of the families, their loved ones, and community members affected by the challenging journey of living with serious mental illnesses, I am grateful to see Governor Newsom taking steps to prioritize options to access treatment to achieve recovery with the proposal of CARE Courts,” said Chris Roup, Executive Director of NAMI Fresno. “This diversion opportunity will help add to a cadre of options for those individuals who need the additional support, such as the supporter role, often needed when they are unable to navigate their way on their own to recovery, while resources continue to be developed and made available at the earliest stages possible.”
The Governor last week also announced the launch of a new CARE Court website by the California Health and Human Services Agency, which will serve as a one-stop resource for the public and stakeholders to learn more about the framework, provide their input, and keep abreast of developments.
Source: Office of the Governor
