According to Douglas Barton, HCA Deputy Agency Director/Behavioral Health Services, the grant will provide funding for intensive outreach, treatment and recovery services. "This collaborative program will have a significant impact on one of the most vulnerable and underserved populations in the County," said Barton.

The grant proposal was developed by a community steering committee that included representatives of the county Mental Health Board, mental health advocacy groups, law enforcement agencies, housing advocates and organizations serving veterans, the elderly, and the disabled. Program services will be implemented after funding becomes available in January 2001.

The grants were announced by Governor Gray Davis and State Department of Mental Health Director Stephen W. Mayberg, Ph.D., who said the effort to serve the homeless mentally ill stems from a successful pilot project. "The early program results proved that persons with mental illness and who are homeless can be helped by providing services that reduce the symptoms that impair their abilities to work, live independently, participate in their families, remain healthy and avoid crime," said Dr. Mayberg. The grant program was made possible by Assembly Bill 2034, sponsored by Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), which received the Governor's approval in September.

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