Housing & Homelessness Committee

Housing & Homelessness Committee

Housing & Homelessness
Meetings 2nd Sunday of the month, 4:00pm on Zoom

Contact: scrane01 [at] roadrunner.com (subject: LWVVC%20Housing%20, %20Homelessness%20Committee) (Sharon Crane) 

Next Committee meeting: Focus on six-month objectives for the group

 

Mary Haffner

Critical Mental Health Discussion: April 13th Meeting

We thank Mary Haffner, our April special guest speaker, for the interesting and involving discussion. She is an Attorney, an Advocate for the Homeless and Mentally Challenged, Board member of NAMI and the Candela Group, and has served on the Behavioral Health Committee.  Mary shared her knowledge of the status of mental health treatment and funding issues in Ventura County. Mary’s firm, Haffner Law Group is separate from her advocacy work for mental health issues.
 
Mental health Treatment and Funding Issues in Ventura County Discussed:

Mary shared her background with the group, and noted that she has a loved one with a serious mental illness, and that she brings her understanding of mental illness and what is needed in the conversation including: Stabilization for the person in crisis; Medication Protocol; Monitoring of Medications and Care for one to two months in locked or unlocked facility, supportive housing as permanent accommodations. Discussions of chasm of services. Without services homelessness is a revolving door.

Money issues were discussed regarding money being allocated but not being utilized. There are several reports by the news media regarding this issue.

Discussed possible actions needed:
Let Supervisors know our concerns by presenting the issues and requesting information and offering suggestions. Mary stated that what we need is a vision of how to spend the funds for a bigger picture long term and come together with leaders and ask for a vision, where funds go, program data, prototype programs, housing, assessment and referral process.

Check in with Advocacy groups- Candela and NAMI.

https://www.thecandelagroup.org/ and Ventura County's most recent Strategic Plan that outlines the vision and priorities of the county https://vcportal.ventura.org/CEO/docs/publications/Ventura-County_Strategic-Plan_2024-2027_v20231023.pdf ; the Candela group will be offering workshops in April and May and a town hall in June at the Poinsettia Pavilion.

The work of this committee:
 
Urgent Policy Concerns

Our committee is investigating how recent federal funding freezes are impacting local nonprofits and housing initiatives throughout Ventura County. Have information to share? We need your expertise - please contact our committee immediately!

Affordable Housing Progress & Challenges

While new affordable housing developments continue to emerge across our county, we recognize the growing need for comprehensive traffic planning to address community concerns and build broader support for these essential projects.

Leadership Transition

We're pleased to announce that Kay Wilson-Bolton will become our new Chairperson beginning June 1, 2025. Thank you, Kay, for stepping into this crucial leadership role!

Your Voice Matters

The Housing & Homelessness Committee welcomes your participation and ideas. Together, we can develop effective solutions for housing accessibility and homelessness prevention in our community.

Please join us for our monthly meeting

Contact: scrane01 [at] roadrunner.com (subject: LWVVC%20Housing%20, %20Homelessness%20Committee) (Sharon Crane)