Answering the Tough Questions on Homelessness with Mission CEO Jonathan Anderson

Losing a Son to Fentanyl with Katie Cavanaugh

Last year I had the privilege of sitting down with mother and community advocate, Katie Cavanaugh, to hear the tragic story of how fentanyl took her son’s life – and how that horrible event spurred to advocate for services and treatment for those accidentally exposed to the lethal drug or wrestling with addiction. Katie shares the lessons she learned and how her view of approaches like “harm reduction” changed.

Answering the Tough Questions on Homelessness with Mission CEO Jonathan Anderson

At 5am on a bench outside the Good News Rescue Mission as part of a national event – Conversations on a Bench, Jonathan and I tackled the tough questions I and many in the community ask about homelessness, including: 1) Is the Mission a low barrier shelter? What barriers do exist to staying there? 2) Are homeless people being bussed in from out of town? 3) How should we approach encampments – zero tolerance, leniency, periodic enforcement, or something else? 4) Does Shasta County’s services for the homeless attract people from out of town? Should we cut services to avoid attracting out-of-towners? Jonathan answers these questions with candor and compassion, building off the experience of serving 18,000 people over the years. Once you’ve listened, let me know what you think!

My Update During the Oct 7th Board Meeting

During my supervisor report on Tuesday, October 7th, I shared an update on some collaborative work I've been doing with Supervisor Harmon on the emerging wolf crisis in Northeastern CA and Supervisor Kelstrom on behavioral health treatment beds. I also discuss conversations I've been having to identify a single call to action and coordinated response to homeless individuals with our CIRT Team and SHASCOM (911 receivers). I also give an update on work with our public safety agencies to publish good crime data and with our housing team to collaborate with local developers to bring more housing online. Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback.

My Update During the Sep 30th Board Meeting

During my supervisor report on Tuesday, September 30th, I shared an observation around several strategic planning processes I've been working on, insights from a conversation with Placer County financial experts on how to take our budgeting process to the next level, a promising conversation with a local health center about partnering on the Sheriff's new corrections and rehabilitation campus, and some updates from my quarterly Lakehead Community meeting. Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback.

My Update During the Sep 23rd Board Meeting

During my supervisor report on Tuesday, September 23rd, I shared an update on several activities from the past few weeks, including my support for 3 local applications for state dollars to expand behavioral treatment beds in our County, our first Developers Roundtable to work collaboratively with builders to bring more housing online, and continued work on our initiative to end veteran homelessness. I wrap up my report with shocking stats on the young people in our Juvenile Rehabilitation Facility. Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback.