Proposition 1 was passed in the 2024 general election, and it changes the Mental Health Services Act passed by voters in 2004, with a focus on how the money from the act can be used.
KSBY News spoke with Transitions-Mental Health Association and the San Luis Obispo County Health Agency about programs and services that are now being impacted.
Proposition 1 includes a $6.4 billion bond to build more places for mental health care and drug or alcohol treatment and more housing for people with mental health, drug, or alcohol challenges.
Frank Warren, the Behavioral Health Department deputy director at the County of San Luis Obispo’s Health Agency, says they are hoping to expand in-patient and crisis residential services.
“The bond part of Prop. 1 made available to counties a grant that we have applied for that would allow us to expand our in-patient and crisis residential services for youth and adults,” said Warren. “We've written that grant. Now we wait until May to find out whether or not we can build some new facilities.”
According to Warren, the county receives money from a tax on people who make more than one million dollars.
But he says the money they receive will now be shifted towards housing programs.
“The other part of Prop. 1, of course, is the change from the Mental Health Services Act or the HSA to the Behavioral Health Services Act or the BHSA,” said Warren. “With that comes a significant shift in how our funding is allocated, and it takes about 30% of the programs that we currently have and basically cuts those in order to fund new housing programs.”
Warren says that the county’s health agency is letting go of programs that have been around for decades.
“We're having to say goodbye to some programs that have been around since the early 2000s, which really have been an upstream type of approach to keeping young people in school, and to making parents stronger, and healthier programs that do counseling for people who are experiencing their first signs of any type of mental health issues,” Warren said.
Michael Kaplan, the community engagement director at Transitions-Mental Health Association, says the growing grounds social enterprises have also been impacted by Prop. 1.
“Our Growing Grounds Social Enterprises most likely will not be covered by Proposition 1 funding,” said Kaplan. “We currently rely on the general fund to keep them going. The County of San Luis Obispo has its own deficit concerns right now, and we are in jeopardy of losing some of that funding as well.”
Kaplan says the annual budget to operate the growing grounds shop in downtown San luis Obispo is $305,000, the nursery in San Luis Obispo is over $629,000, and the farm in Santa Maria is $537,000.
But Transitions-Mental Health Association also relies on assistance from other agencies.
“But our first priority is the social services side effects and the vocational development, the training, the support, the way that we work with the clients that comes first, not selling goods and services to the general public,” said Kaplan. “So those businesses do not yet pay for themselves. We rely upon contracts with the counties. We rely upon grants and then also some private donations that we receive.”
