1 David Yakobson
From: Kelly Delich <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, February 24, 2025 6:21 PM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: SM City Council Meeting (2/25/2025)-Written Comment, Agenda Item 11B
EXTERNAL
Hello,
Please find my written comment below, on behalf of Family Service of Santa Monica.
My name is Kelly Delich. I’m a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the Clinical Director at Family Service of Santa Monica, a division of Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services. Family Service has a longstanding presence in the city, spanning over 90 years providing a broad spectrum of mental health care services that include individual and family counseling and psychotherapy, reflecting parenting (RPP), early intervention, and training for graduate students.
Family Service has supported the community in times of tragedy and crisis, offering intervention services and crisis/grief counseling. While we serve more than 1200 Santa Monica community members across all demographics each year through school and community events, and direct service, the majority of our clients are children and adolescents. For more than a decade, we have partnered with the City of Santa Monica to provide accessible mental health services to SMMUSD students, community members, and families with young children through our Early Childhood Well-Being Project (ECWP). We currently have full-time staff providing mental health services on campus at SAMOHI, John Adams MS (JAMS), McKinley Elementary School, Edison Language Academy, and Will Rogers Learning Center.
We’ve noticed an increase in the acuity of mental health conditions and the rise in individuals self-medicating in response to the COVID pandemic and on-going instability in the socio-political climate. More specifically, there has been an increase in substance use among the youth population. According to a recent SMMUSD California Healthy Kids Survey, 47% of 11th graders and 26% of 9th graders endorsed using drugs or alcohol to “get high”; with 28% of 11th graders and14% of 9th graders reporting current alcohol or drug use. Almost 100 youth in Santa Monica have been identified as needing treatment for substance use disorders. However, while programming has been aimed at assessment and diagnosis of substance use disorders, there is a noticeable gap in the availability of specialized treatment services.
Family Service of Santa Monica is committed to helping children and families thrive. The funding expansion proposed by the city would allow Family Service the opportunity to fill this gap, providing quality assessment and diagnostic services, as well as specialized substance use disorder treatment that includes psychoeducation and substance use prevention interventions. It would enhance our existing services, allow us to meet an unmet need, and increase our ability to support the Santa Monica community.
Item 11-B
February 25, 2025
Item 11-B
February 25, 2025
2 Kelly Delich, LMFT
Clinical Director
Phone: (310) 451-9747
Fax: (310) 451-6106
Email: [email protected]
Family Service of Santa Monica-Vista Del Mar
1533 Euclid Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404
www.vistadelmar.org
Vista Del Mar is a proud recipient of Charity Navigator’s and GuideStar’s highest rating! IMPORTANT NOTICE: This message and any attachments are intended solely for the addressee(s) named above and may contain confidential and legally privileged information. Healthcare information contained in this transmission is protected from misuse and unauthorized disclosure by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Any unauthorized use, disclosure or copying in any manner is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete this message and any attachments from your system immediately. Thank you for your cooperation.
Item 11-B
February 25, 2025
Item 11-B
February 25, 2025