One in four Latino adults and one in five children in San Diego County are likely to experience major depression or another mental disorder on any given year; however, stigma, culture and language barriers keep many from seeking treatment.
A bilingual fotonovela—Salir Adelante: Cómo una familia aprende sobre la salud mental (Moving Forward: How a Family Learns About Mental Health)—was published by the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency to educate Latinos about mental health.
About 40,000 English and Spanish fotonovelas are available at 90 locations throughout the region, including County libraries, mental health centers, and family resource centers. The fotonovela will also be available at the six Northgate Markets throughout the county.
Fotonovelas are extremely popular among Latinos. A fotonovela is a booklet with pictures and dialogue boxes that often tell a dramatic story with a moral lesson.
People suffering from a mental illness can access services by calling the County’s 24-hour, multi-lingual Access and Crisis Line at (800) 479-3339.
Dr. Natalie Pearl, the San Diego County Probation Department Director of Research, received the Award of Excellence from the Chief Probation Officers of California. Only one Probation employee from the state is given this award. She was honored for her work to support evidence-based practices at the regional, state and national levels. Evidence-based practices utilize risk driven supervision and treatment strategies to reduce recidivism.
Pearl joined the San Diego County Probation Department as the Director of Research in April 2005, just as the concept of evidence based practices was taking hold. She was one of the original members of the Southern California Probation Performance Measures Committee and has also been instrumental in working with Imperial and San Luis Obispo Counties in the National Institute of Corrections sponsored Strategic Planning for the Implementation of Evidence Based Practice initiative.
The County Health and Human Services Agency is pleased to announce the appointment of Eric C. McDonald, M.D., as the new Deputy Public Health Officer for San Diego County.
McDonald earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College in 1981 and received his Medical Degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 1985. He completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at Naval Medical Center, San Diego and served a total of 24 years on active duty in the U.S. Navy, including two combat tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His last military assignment was at Camp Pendleton as the I Marine Expeditionary Force Surgeon, where he supervised primary and preventive care for over 25,000 Marines and sailors in Southern California.
“The County is ecstatic to find someone like Dr. McDonald who has such a diverse background and has contributed to our community directly through his work with the military,” said Walt Ekard, Chief Administrative Officer, County of San Diego. “He will be a wonderful addition to our already stellar Health and Human Services Agency and its Public Health Services team.”
McDonald is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians and a Clinical Instructor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He has conducted research in traumatic brain injury through the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center and is a consultant on the medical effects of chemical and biological weapons. He practiced emergency medicine at Naval Medical Center, San Diego from 2005 to 2010 and he most recently was the project coordinator for Safety Net Connect at Community Health Improvement Partners.
“McDonald brings both practical experience and proven leadership skills that will further assist the Agency in its efforts to protect the public’s health from existing and constantly evolving biothreats,” said Nick Macchione, Director of the County Health and Human Services Agency. “He also brings a wealth of clinical expertise that will be particularly beneficial in the implementation of the County’s Health Strategy Agenda, Building Better Health.”
San Diego County Credit Union is excited to announce the Grand Opening of our Kearny Mesa Branch. The branch is located at 5500 Overland Avenue, Suite 190, in the new County of San Diego Operations Center. Join us on Wednesday, November 17th for our Grand Opening celebration from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
There will be refreshments, service displays and an opportunity to win fabulous prizes. Enter to win the Grand Prize, a Baja Mexico Cruise for two from Carnival Cruise Lines and Carefree Vacations. Other prizes include a One-Night Stay and a 50-minute Spa Treatment compliments of La Costa Resort & Spa and a $250 Visa Gift Card.
The Kearny Mesa Branch location will be open Monday-Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and now on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Visit sdccu.com or call toll-free 1-877-732-2848 for more information.
Understanding that having a stable place to live is the first step to recovery from a mental disorder, the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) today launched an education campaign that aims to erase stigma and housing discrimination against people with a mental illness.
The Housing Matters campaign also hopes to reduce homelessness by placing people with a mental disorder in supportive housing where theycan receive treatment for their illness and get services to help them address other underlying problems that contributed to their being on the streets.
“Having a permanent place to live is the first step for the recovery process to begin,” said Nick Macchione, HHSA Director. “Having supportive housing allows people with a mental illness to receive medical and mental health treatment, as well as social services to help them thrive.”
Mental illness is a major cause of homelessness. There are about 8,500 homeless people in the San Diego region; about 25 percent of them suffer from a mental disorder. Often, people with mental illness face discrimination when looking for a place to live.
Starting today, radio, television and print ads highlighting the benefits of supportive housing will appear throughout the region. Funding for the campaign, which will run through June 2015, comes from the Mental Health Services Act or Prop. 63, a millionaires’ tax that specifically designates funds for mental health services. The measure was approved by California voters in 2004.
Supportive housing is a community-based service model that, in addition to housing and mental health services, also offers training and assists people to get jobs. While in supportive housing, clients tend to take better care of themselves which may include the discontinuation of alcohol/drug abuse.
Studies have shown that a chronically homeless individual could use as much as $42,000 in public services and emergency care each year. In supportive housing, the cost for treating that individual drops to about $16,000 or less.
“Mental illnesses can be treated,” said Dr. Piedad García, Director of HHSA’s Adult and Older Adult Mental Health Services. “We need to get homeless people into supportive housing so that they can get the treatment they need.”
He takes no nonsense from anybody, not even the Mexican Mafia. His commitment to serve and protect the public from gang threats makes Sgt. William “Brian” Hout an outstanding member of the Sheriff’s Department.
On October 26th, Sgt. Hout received an Honorable Mention during the “Police Officer of the Year” convention in Florida. Parade Magazine and the International Association of Chiefs honor the finest in law enforcement every year.
Sgt. Hout was recognized for his work with the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force Gang Group. He took part in 13 major gang or drug investigations including Operations Keys to the City. Sgt. Hout says the operation targeted the “worst of the worst.” He took the dangerous job of setting up undercover surveillance to track the activities of suspected killers, kidnappers and drug traffickers as well as members of the Mexican Mafia and a gang that was pulling off crimes behind bars.
Sheriff Bill Gore called Sgt. Hout “one of the best and the brightest” of the department.
The San Diego County Registrar of Voters is using a new mail ballot system that can process up to 24,000 return mail ballot envelopes per hour. The new Pitney Bowes Relia-Vote Mail Balloting System is over 56 feet long and fills an entire room at the Registrar of Voters office. Almost 50% of county voters now vote by mail, and this machine greatly reduces the time needed to sort the ever-increasing number of ballots.
HHSA's Childhood Lead Prevention Program teamed up with several community partners to offer free lead testing during National Lead Prevention Week. The event was held at Cherokee Point Elementary School in City Heights. More than 300 children were tested throughout the day.
The County’s Health and Human Services Agency’s (HHSA) Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program began an early prevention initiative in 2004 to provide services to children with lower lead levels. Since then, the number of children with elevated levels of lead in their blood has decreased by 61 percent. The only sure way to know a child is lead poisoned is to have the child tested. More than 49,000 children in San Diego County were tested in 2009.
“Early detection of lead poisoning is critical,” said Supervisor Ron Roberts, District 4, San Diego County Board of Supervisors. “Lead is a silent attacker that can cause severe developmental problems in children and chronic exposure to even low levels of lead can have serious consequences.”
“Lead poisoning is preventable,” said Nick Macchione, Director of HHSA. “Many people have the perception that the danger of lead poisoning has gone away since the lead in paint was removed beginning in 1979. But some San Diego County residents live in housing built prior to that year and paint is still the number one source of lead poisoning in our children, followed by home remedies and pottery.”
For more information about lead poisoning,visit www.sdlead.org or call 619-515-6694.
