California voters will have the final say on Proposition 1 during next month’s primary election.
It’s the only statewide initiative on the March 5 ballot, and is the product of two bills signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last October.
It proposes major changes to the way Californians can access mental health and substance abuse treatment. The measure also aims to address the state’s homelessness crisis.
These are issues that impact local communities in the Coachella Valley and some of our local nonprofit organizations play a crucial part in finding solutions, along with other partners.
“It’s prevalent. It’s hard. It’s out there and we see it in our families. We see it everywhere and senior citizens are also getting pushed out of their housing if they don’t fit into that criteria that they have that they thought they were in,” according to Darla Burkett, Executive Director at the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission.
Jennifer Franco details the measure’s potential impacts, as well as what supporters and opponents are saying about it.