SONJA K. BERNDT
Pasadena, CA 91107
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2022 MAY 17 PM 2: 30
May 17,2022
Mayor Victor Gordo ([email protected])
Vice Mayor Andy Wilson ([email protected])
Councilmember Tyron Hampton ([email protected]) Councilmember John Kennedy Ciohnjkennedy@,citvofpasadena.net) Councilmember Steve Madison ([email protected]) Councilmember Gene Masuda (gmasudafgicityofpasadena.net) Councilmember Jessica Rivas ([email protected]) Councilmember Felicia Williams ([email protected]) Members of the Public Safety Committee
gstevenson(a!citYofpasadena.net
corresi:)[email protected]
Pasadena, California
Re: Public Safety Committee Meeting 5/18/2022: Agenda Item # 1 - Pasadena Public Health Department's Proposed FY2023 Operatins Budget
Dear Mayor Gordo, Members of the City Council,
& Members of the Public Safety Committee:
I have been a resident of Pasadena for 19 years. I am an advocate for persons experiencing homelessness and I am very familiar with the Public Health Department's critical role in providing services for our unhoused residents.
The Fiscal Year 2023 Recommended Operating Budget again appropriates zero General Fund Dollars to our Public Health Department. Pasadena can and must do better.
I agree with Councilmember Williams that every effort must be made to secure maximal grant funding for appropriate programs and services. I also concur with Vice Mayor Wilson that major steps must be taken to analyze health-related programs mn by other departments that would have improved efficacy under the Public Health Department's domain. Mayor Gordo, I recognize that Pasadena's Public Health Department is unique and would benefit from greater County and State funding contributions.
However, in order to live up to our Public Health Department's vision of being the model of health excellence and community wellness, it is essential that we adequately and reliably invest in our Public Health Department with General Fund money. 1 Former City Manager Steve Mermell stated, "I do foresee a time when we'll need to put general fund dollars into the health department... I'm hopeful, through the pandemic, that people start to realize that we can't take public health matters for granted." Councilmembers, that time is now.
I call upon the Public Safety Committee and City Council to modify the Recommended Operating Budget to increase General Fund Dollars to cover the cost of Public Health approaches to Violence Prevention and effective services to our residents experiencing Homelessness.
1) Appropriate General Fund Dollars for Public Health Approaches to Violence Prevention.
Violence is a Public Health Crisis. Victims of violence do not just suffer from direct physical injury and loss. Studies show that they also have increased rates of psychiatric illnesses, like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and medical illnesses, like cancer.
According to the CDC, living in a community experiencing violence is also associated with increases in risk of developing chronic diseases, as concerns about violence may prevent some from engaging in healthy behaviors, such as walking, bicycling, using parks and recreational spaces, and accessing healthy food outlets. Violence scares people out of participating in neighborhood activities; limits business growth and prosperity; strains education, justice and medical systems; and slows community progress.
Violence is a leading cause of death and nonfatal injuries among adolescents and young adults.
Studies show that Public Health models for violence prevention work. They are safe, affordable and effective. They save lives and save cities millions of dollars.
Despite 85 million General Fund Dollars appropriated to the Pasadena Police Department (PPD) last year, many Pasadena residents continued to be traumatized by violent crimes.
Meanwhile, zero dollars from our General Fund were invested in our Public Health Department, according to the Fiscal Year 2022 Operating Budget, and we had no Public- Health-Model Violence Prevention Program because of an expired grant.
Councilmembers, when will your actions align with your statements about striving for a safer Pasadena?
I urge you to modify the Recommended Operating Budget to appropriate General Fund Dollars to our Public Health Department to cover the cost of a long term, evidence- 2 based, non-police-affiliated Violence Prevention Program that will actually help create the Safer Pasadena that we all desire to see.
Please stop putting our community's safety in the hands of grants that come and go.
For less than 2% of PPD's annual operating budget, Pasadena could implement a viable, affordable, evidence-based, Public-Health-Model Violence Prevention Program with proven results. This could save lives and save millions of dollars, just like other cities around the globe. I also implore you to use American Rescue Plan Act funds to provide monetary support for our non-police-affiliated, Public Health approach to violence prevention.
2) Fund Public Health Department Outreach and Facilitation of Support Services for Victims/Witnesses of Public Acts of Violence.
As a City, we must do a better job of supporting those impacted by violence. Please fund improved outreach and facilitation of support services for Pasadenans who have witnessed or experienced public acts of violence. Our community members are hurting. This is especially true of our children who have witnessed shootings and those who have lost loved ones to violence.
A simple phone call or visit from a Public Health Department representative providing information on supportive services offered by community based organizations could promote the healing process, and help deter some of the chronic physical and mental health conditions associated with violence. Such outreach could also help prevent the affected individuals' future involvement in violence, creating a safer community. 3) Appropriate General Fund Dollars to Public Health Department Programs and Services for Unsheltered Residents.
I am calling upon the Public Safety Committee and City Council, at large, to modify the Recommended Operating Budget to increase General Fund Dollars to cover the cost of programs and services for our unsheltered residents.
Fully fund the GEM-Link and TAY-Link programs for our unhoused and increase staffing for these programs and the PORT Program (Pasadena Outreach Response Team). The GEM and TAY-Link programs are literally hanging by a thread, with staff waiting to see if the County will provide funding for another year. This is unacceptable! We need MORE case managers, not less! Fund more case managers and support staff to enable these programs to provide more effective services and follow-up for our hundreds of unsheltered residents.
3 Currently, GEM and TAY-Link are not even accepting new unsheltered residents due to funding issues. PORT cannot possibly absorb the GEM and TAY-Link clients given their own caseloads.
It is unacceptable to require crucial Public Health Department programs to solely depend on grants.
Providing adequate funding for these programs and services is safer, more efficient, more humane, and cheaper than taxpayer funded emergency department visits, police calls for service and managing homelessness through the criminal justice system. 4) Make Plans to Fund a Non-Police-AffiIiated, Mental-Health-Crisis-First- Response Program.
I urge the City Council to make plans to fund a non-police-affiliated, Mental-Health- Crisis-First-Response Program through our Public Health Department that includes Mental Health Professionals who are available 24/7 to all age groups.
Such a program could have diverted many, if not most, of the 1,994 police department calls for service related to mental health issues in FY 2021.
Programs like this employed by other cities cost only a fraction of the millions of dollars in city-wide savings they provide, and save countless lives.
A comprehensive program deploying trained, mental health professionals as part of a Mental-Health-Crisis-First-Response team (like CAHOOTS), combined with long term outreach services such as those provided by PORT, could provide the 21st century, life- and-money-saving care needed by Pasadenans suffering from mental health crises. This could also eliminate any perceived need for armed police officer response and the HOPE team, providing Pasadenans compassionate, specialized care and additional savings.
Please agendize this matter immediately, have providers experienced in this field present relevant information and answer questions, and seek community input on this highly relevant Public Health matter.
In sum, Pasadenans deserve adequate and reliable investment in Public Health Department programs and services that create a healthier, safer community in which we all can thrive.
Councilmembers, we are counting on you to modify the Recommended Operating Budget's General Fund appropriations to the Public Health Department to cover the cost of these community needs before adopting the Fiscal Year 2023 Operating Budget. 4 Thank you for your time and consideration of this letter.
Sincerely,
/s/
Sonja K. Berndt
Pasadena
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