Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/matt-holzmann/)
Matt Holzmann, long time resident of Orange County and Chair of Government Relations for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, writes that we need to come together to discuss solutions to end homelessness.
The proposed center – next to a freeway, office buildings, and the Santa Ana River – is seen by advocates and officials as a major step toward addressing a severe shortage of mental health services.
During this Mental Illness Awareness Week, Matt Holzmann writes that we should all see ourselves as first responders when it comes to mental health, warning we can’t just leave public safety officers alone in dealing with mentally ill in our communities. Instead, Holzmann notes that education and early intervention are key to successful outcomes.
The state may shutter a 114-acre property that currently houses developmentally disabled adults. Homeless advocates, and a state senator, say the property should be re-purposed as a center for homeless people and others who need temporary housing and mental health services.
Mental health advocates are hopeful the 21st Century CURES Act will be a positive and new direction for mental health care.
Could the state’s aging mental health campus in Costa Mesa, Fairview Developmental Center, be the key toward improving mental health outcomes out on the streets of Orange County?
Holzmanm views the tangled mess of homelessness, addiction, incarceration and mental illness as a top priority. Orange County must change its way. Can OC deal with these problems in a compassionate manner?
A new Halloween horror attraction that opened last week at Knott’s Berry Farm has drawn criticism from advocates who say it includes offensive and dehumanizing depictions of mental health patients.
For years, local political leaders largely ignored Orange County’s severe shortage of psychiatric beds, which has contributed to, among other things, the current homelessness crisis. But they are beginning to direct their policymaking to the problem.