Prop. 1 has Alameda County scrambling to preserve mental health programs
County officials warn state-mandated funding changes could eliminate prevention programs and leave up to 15,000 individuals without early mental health support.
☕️MORNING BUZZ
Vol. VI, No. 1,216
—When California voters approved California Proposition 1 in 2024, the goal was clear: redirect the state’s behavioral-health system toward housing and treatment for people with severe mental illness and substance use disorders, particularly those living on the streets.
But the measure is also forcing counties to rethink how they fund mental-health programs — and in Alameda County, officials say the shift could come at a steep cost.
Alameda County leaders warned before the statewide vote two years ago that the initiative would reduce local flexibility, redirect funding away from prevention programs, and increase state control over how behavioral-health dollars are spent. The county formally opposed Prop. 1.
Now they say those concerns are becoming reality.
—About 15,000 people in Alameda County could lose access to services including wellness centers, suicide-prevention programs and culturally specific services for LGBTQ+ residents and immigrant communities, according to the Behavioral Health Collaborative of Alameda County.
“We’re turning the continuum of care into a crisis,” said Narges Dillon, the group’s past president. “A continuum of crisis.”
“The system is already overloaded,” Dillon told the Alameda County Board of Supervisors Health Committee on Monday. “We can’t be the only entry door remaining for thousands of people losing services”…
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—More inside:
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