Spending for multi-year federal grant and state funding initiatives will be influenced by resident feedback

State and federal funding is available to help counties address community issues such as behavioral health services and critical hous­ing needs. Marin County is asking for help in prioritiz­ing future spending by better understanding the concerns of residents.

A series of planning meet­ings will take place in July and August where residents will discuss a range of com­munity issues such as mental health services and preven­tion efforts, substance use treatment and prevention, af­fordable housing needs, com­munity facilities and park improvements, and public services.

Feedback gathered from the focus group sessions will be used by Marin Health and Human Services Department (HHS) and Community De­velopment Agency (CDA) to inform three separate grant funding plans: the Mental Health Services Act 3-Year Plan, the Substance Use Ser­vices 5-Year Plan, and Hous­ing and Federal Grants Divi­sion’s 5-Year Consolidated Plan. The new plans will go into effect on July 1, 2020.

“Our intent is to work alongside residents to develop a shared, community vision for services that are culturally competent and assist those with the greatest need in our community,” said Jillian Zei­ger, Planner for Marin’s Com­munity Development Agency. “This is a unique time where all three of these divisions have timelines that overlap, so we can reach a broader au­dience and address issues in a holistic manner.”

CDA’s Consolidated Plan prioritizes county specific needs for funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Develop­ment Block Grant program (CDBG) and HOME Invest­ment Partnerships Program (HOME). These federal grant funds are distributed to eli­gible projects sponsored by local nonprofit organizations and public agencies and have been used for housing, com­munity facilities, and public services for low- and moder­ate-income households.

HHS’s Continuum of Sub­stance Use Strategic Plan aims to create a comprehensive ap­proach to preventing, treating and providing ongoing recov­ery support services for the problems associated with the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in Marin’s Com­munity.

The Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) was approved by voters in 2004 with aim to help transform the public mental health system through com­munity collaboration, client and family member involve­ment, and a focus on wellness and recovery.

Planning meetings will be held at a variety of locations around Marin:

• August 1, 1-3 p.m. – Marin County Office of Education, San Rafael
• August 5, 4-6 p.m. – Bay­side / Martin Luther King Jr. School, Marin City
• August 14, 6-8 p.m. – Col­lege of Marin, Kentfield

An additional meeting on August 27, from 4:30 to 6:30pm, will be held at the Marin Health and Wellness Campus in San Rafael to fo­cus specifically on suicide and behavioral health prevention and early intervention. There will be an additional meet­ing held entirely in Spanish, details will be announced at a later date.

The County hosted a meet­ing in West Marin on June 18 and will continue to conduct outreach to West Marin resi­dents throughout the planning process.

To ensure broad communi­ty engagement, an online sur­vey is also available in Eng­lish, Spanish and Vietnamese. The online survey will remain open until the fall.

Additional meeting infor­mation and notes from previ­ous meetings are available on Marin HHS’s MHSA web­page and the Federal Grants webpage.

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