SAN DIEGO (CNS) -- San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chairman Nathan Fletcher used Thursday evening's State of the County speech to unveil numerous proposals, including providing better mental health care and reducing drug addiction.
Fletcher said the coronavirus pandemic increased mental health challenges and the county must build a network of comprehensive care to reduce homelessness and serve residents "in the right place, at the right time."
One example is new mobile crisis response teams, as part of a pilot program, that Fletcher said "replace cops with clinicians" by de-escalating situations and providing treatment.
The program will be taken countywide, but more health care professionals are needed, Fletcher said.
The original sin of racism is still prevalent in many sectors of society, Fletcher said, adding that a Latino child in Barrio Logan is seven times more likely to have asthma than a white child in Solana Beach.
"Our county can't rise to its full potential, if so many San Diegans are prevented from rising at all," Fletcher said.
Last year, the board voted for a crisis hub in the Hillcrest neighborhood, to help people break the cycle of drug addiction, disease and incarceration.
The board also voted for harm reduction policies on drugs and use of Naloxone to prevent fatal overdoses, Fletcher said.
To Fletcher, supportive housing goes hand-in-hand with drug treatment.
No doubt the county will face opposition to such projects, "but we can no longer let the `not in my backyard' nay-sayers dictate policy," Fletcher said. "People are hurting. Neighborhoods are suffering. And we have to do better."
Other proposals unveiled during the hour-long speech included:
-- Increasing county contracts with local business, which would mean $75 million more for economy;
-- A workplace justice initiative to protect low-wage workers, along with opening a labor standards enforcement office;
-- Creating a San Diego film office to bring more film and television jobs to the region;
-- A new framework for jail health care;
-- Conferences for behavioral health in the workforce, the probation department with a focus on juvenile justice reforms;
-- Opening an office helping refugees and immigrants;
-- Expanding the county Waterfront Park in downtown San Diego to feature more amenities, including athletic courts, a dog park and a chess tables, and;
-- A task force with regional and tribal leadership to help finish the 52-mile walking and biking paths of the San Diego River Park , a project that began 20 years ago.
The county cannot lose its focus on public safety, but leaders can also "make justice, fairness and opportunity a core principal," he said.
Fletcher also praised residents for their efforts to combat the COVID- 19 pandemic. Fletcher said while there are still many challenges ahead, he wanted to present the progress made since the county government officially declared a state of emergency on Feb. 14, 2020 as coronavirus outbreaks began in the United States.
"We don't strive simply to get back to normal," Fletcher said. "We want better than that."
Fletcher spoke while standing in the county's emergency medical operations center, with a limited audience due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
Fletcher praised the thousands of dedicated workers " who responded to a pandemic that has tested us and divided us in a year -- that has shown us the very best of us, and sadly, the worst."
"As I stand before you tonight, I have no doubt: The state of our county is resilient," Fletcher said.
