OPINION: YES on Measure O
By Supervisor Shirlee Zane.
If there was a tax you could vote on to decrease families from suffering, reduce people with mental illnesses in our county jail and reduce the number of people who are homeless, would you vote for it? I know I would and that’s why I am asking you to vote yes on Measure O.
Ten years ago my family became one of those that have suffered so much when we lost my husband tragically to under-treated depression. Since my husbands’ suicide I have met dozens of people who also lost their sons, daughters, spouses, mothers, fathers and friends because their loved one did not receive the medical treatment they needed for their loved one’s mental illness or substance addiction.
Measure O is a quarter cent sales tax that will increase mental health funding by 25 million a year. Every single dollar must be used for mental health programs and a small percentage to provide these services to homeless populations within supportive housing services.
The dollars will support the Mobile Support Team that provides behavioral health crisis interventions during the 911 calls that pertain to individuals who are having a crisis due to their mental illness or addiction.
Without dedicated Measure O funding, Sonoma law enforcement officers will continue handling too many mental health emergencies. A vote on O will keep those who need services out of jail and get them into treatment.
It will support our peer counselor programs, mental health services for seniors, veterans, children, suicide prevention and early intervention programs for youth, a new 16 bed psychiatric unit, and substance abuse services. In addition, the dollars, will enhance and increase the many mental health programs the county is mandated to provide.
In the last three years our County has experienced three devastating wildfires, a destructive flood and now a pandemic. Businesses have been closed, livelihoods destroyed and family homes burned to the ground. Lives and pets have been lost and we all are experiencing the culmination of the trauma, grief, depression and anxiety due to these losses.
Now is the time to invest in additional mental health services. There is no better time.
Please join me, Congressman Mike Thompson, President of Santa Rosa Junior College, Frank Chong, Superintendent of Schools, Steve Harington, Supervisor Lynda Hopkins and Latino leaders, such as Esther Lemus, in voting YES on Measure O, for the health of our families and Community!
INFO: https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/CRA/Registrar-of-Voters/Elections/11-03-2020/Measures/
