Crisis Care: Residential Treatment Facility Breaks Ground in Victorville, Where It's 'So Greatly Needed'
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4/14/2017 Crisis care: Residential treatment facility breaks ground in Victorville, where it's 'so greatly needed' Crisis care: Residential treatment facility breaks ground in Victorville, where it’s ‘so greatly needed’ Thursday Posted Apr 13, 2017 at 1:16 PM Updated Apr 13, 2017 at 5:31 PM The $6.6 million facility was lauded as a lower-cost, community-centered treatment option that should ultimately reduce emergency room visits, hospitalizations and incarcerations. By Staff Writer VICTORVILLE — The second crisis residential treatment facility in San Bernardino County and first in the High Desert ceremoniously broke ground Thursday, expected to treat individuals with mental health and/or co-occurring substance use disorders when operational at the beginning of next year. The $6.6 million facility, on the northwest corner of Hesperia Road and Sunhill Drive, was lauded by policymakers and stakeholders as a lower-cost, community-centered treatment option that should ultimately reduce emergency room visits, hospitalizations and incarcerations. “As you break ground for this crisis residential treatment facility,” Mayor Gloria Garcia said, “I am so excited and thankful to see this facility being built here in Victorville, where it is so greatly needed.” County Supervisors in August approved the facility, the second of six similar projects countywide assisted by $50 million in grant funding. With 16 beds, the facility will serve adults 18 years and older and “maintain stabilization and http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20170413/crisis-care-residential-treatment-facility-breaks-ground-in-victorville-where-its-so-greatly-needed 1/2 4/14/2017 Crisis care: Residential treatment facility breaks ground in Victorville, where it's 'so greatly needed' promote recovery following a crisis episode in an unlocked, voluntary facility,” according to a county-provided fact sheet. The county’s Department of Behavioral Health is the lead agency on the project, but the department’s chief insisted that it’s ultimately a multi-pronged effort among various agencies. “The essential components of us doing these types of projects is that we have to have political buy-in, we have to have community buy-in,” said Veronica Kelley, director of the Department of Behavioral Health. “It’s not just about political will, it’s not just about having the money to build,” she continued, “it’s about the community input and the community’s will, and that’s what we see here today.” Robert Lovingood, 1st District Supervisor and board chairman, referred to the facility’s ability to mitigate the burden on public safety resources. “This allows law enforcement the facility where when they have the call, they can treat and bring individuals that are challenged,” he said, “and then be back on the street doing their first-most task.” A hallmark of this facility, officials say, is the program in a home-like setting where expectations are set that clients participate in the day-to-day operations of running a household while having access to extensive treatment. Shea Johnson can be reached at 760-955-5368 or . Follow him on Twitter at . http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20170413/crisis-care-residential-treatment-facility-breaks-ground-in-victorville-where-its-so-greatly-needed 2/2 4/14/2017 This Desert Life: Of first-graders and public officials This Desert Life: Of ꃦrst-graders and public o⺰cials Thursday Posted Apr 13, 2017 at 7:15 PM Updated Apr 13, 2017 at 7:20 PM By Staff Writer Follow I try to avoid talking politics here; however, I want to discuss , and politics are intrinsic to their story. On Feb. 14, I submitted a California Public Records Act request with San Bernardino County asking for all county emails related to the Newton T. Bass Apple Valley Branch Library, closed since April 18, 2015. In response I received two DVD-R discs containing more than 800 emails each. My goal was twofold: gain a sense of the county’s process as it related to repairing the library and understand why that process had taken nearly two years. More on that later. Included in the second disc was Phoenix Academy teacher Violet Carter’s Jan. 11 email to 1st District Supervisor Robert Lovingood, which expressed concern over how the closure was affecting her students. The email, in part, was a plea for transparency, a word thrown around a lot (usually in anger or desperation) in the political world. I felt for Ms. Carter, but was unsure if she would speak to me about her frustrations. http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20170413/this-desert-life-of-first-graders-and-public-officials 1/4 4/14/2017 This Desert Life: Of first-graders and public officials Then came the coincidence. Mere days after reading the email, my phone rang. None other than Violet Carter was on the other end of the line, and she proceeded to tell me about a two-day, literacy-themed event at Phoenix Academy spurred by her students’ letters, sent a little after her email. Ain’t life funny? I thought before informing Ms. Carter I was aware of her email to the supervisor and would definitely cover the event. Initially, Lovingood was to visit the school on Wednesday — the day I attended — but the tragedy at North Park Elementary School forced him to alter his schedule, and he arrived to the campus Tuesday morning. That day, an envelope was placed on my desk containing copies of the hand- written letters Ms. Carter’s first-graders wrote to him. They were endearing, and I wondered if “Mr. Lovinggood” smiled at the frequent misspelling of his name. Smile or no, Lovingood deserves credit for the way he responded. He engaged with these kids in an admirable way, giving them something more than the time of day, and I commend him for it. Cynics will argue he should be visiting schools unprovoked by letters. Maybe that’s true. And yet, maybe he does. I don’t know because I don’t shadow his every move. But anyway, I’ve grown weary of cynicism. It’s a dull, myopic way to look at the world that produces little more than a cranky attitude fat with hopelessness. In this case, the guy did the right thing, as did County Library officials who brought their mobile library and Wacko the Magician to the entire Phoenix Academy student body. That might sound silly, but had you heard the jubilant cries of wonder echoing through the school’s gymnasium, you’d understand what a man dancing with a levitating table means to the imagination of children. And all this — the supervisor, the books, the magic show, the reminder of how powerful the written word can be — came courtesy of a teacher and some students who communicated their concern. They, too, are deserving of praise for http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20170413/this-desert-life-of-first-graders-and-public-officials 2/4 4/14/2017 This Desert Life: Of first-graders and public officials they’ve proven what can happen when we care about anything more than ourselves and choose to act. But, of course, there exists a difference between cynicism and skepticism, the latter being necessary to my chosen profession. Skepticism surrounding the county’s initial reaction to that closed library adjacent to Apple Valley’s Town Hall resulted in my records request. That’s a fact those officials should be held accountable for considering further inspections revealed the building to be a detriment to public safety. With that said, I’ve made a few observations amid my, thus far, cursory review of more than 1,600 emails related to the closure: 1) County officials, early on, were not privy to either the extent of the damage or the repair work needed, which is now a reconstruction of the roof and truss system that will cost about $4 million. Had they been aware, their initial estimates would not have indicated a closure that was or lasting only 2) There are many, many moving parts to this puzzle. Among other issues, the county had trouble nailing down a contractor, communicating updates to Lovingood and discerning the right design to ensure the repairs and upgraded trusses would be permanent fixes. This is understandable, though, as all problems require abundant brain wracking. 3) There are people at work on this. When a public building is closed for this long, it’s easy to conclude nothing is being done. But the emails prove the opposite. Much has been done, largely behind the scenes via unsexy, yet productive, decisions. And while the county can do more to provide substantive updates to the community that don’t distract from the issue, smart decisions have been made in the last two years that mitigated the closure’s effects. The temporary library is one example. The county and Lovingood’s response to Ms. Carter’s first-graders is another. http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20170413/this-desert-life-of-first-graders-and-public-officials 3/4 4/14/2017 Our View: Kids demand action on Apple Valley library - Opinion - VVdailypress.com - Victorville, CA Our View: Kids demand action on Apple Valley library Thursday Posted Apr 13, 2017 at 10:33 AM Updated Apr 13, 2017 at 10:33 AM By Daily Press Editorial Board The wheels of government sometimes barely move. That’s especially true when there is a disagreement over whose responsible for paying the piper. Take the Apple Valley Newton T. Bass Branch Library, for instance. If it seems like that library has been closed forever, well, you’re close. It was two years ago this month that the library was shuttered because of damage to its roof, trusses and other structural supports.