Innovative County Programs Grab Three CSAC Merit Awards

Terrific job Health and Human Services Agency employees! Your efforts on three innovative programs were recognized by the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) from more than 200 other county programs that applied this year.

An independent panel of judges with expertise in county programs and challenges selected the award recipients.

The three CSAC Merit Award winners were:

San Diego County – Live Well San Diego an ongoing plan launched by the County to promote health, safety and a thriving region. The plan aims to steer people away from a state of chronic disease and spiraling health care costs.

The plan includes three components: Building Better Health, Living Safely, and Thriving. Since it was adopted, the plan has helped nurture farm to institution relationships including 14 school districts, one independent school and some senior meal contractors and restaurants. The County is also helping to improve the health of its employees with worksite wellness activities such as boot camp, Zumba and yoga classes.

San Diego County – Blueprint: Comprehensive Services for Homeless Mentally Ill is a program with a goal to reduce homelessness in the mentally ill by providing a combination of services, housing and community support.

The Blueprint for Recovery uses a team approach to stabilize a mentally ill person and helps him develop independent living skills such as cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping and money management.  To reach out to the community, HHSA developed a Housing Matters media campaign to reduce stigma, housing discrimination and landlord/community fear of the mentally ill.

San Diego County – Technology & Aging Coalition was created to help educate older adults about technology so they won’t become isolated as the technology is absorbed more and more into society. The goal is to help senior citizens get on email and the internet. The coalition also educates tech companies about the needs of this population.

The coalition, which includes nonprofit and for-profit organizations, started in 2010 after an Aging Summit on Technology drew more than 2,000 older adults interested in learning more about technology. The coalition put on three Get Connected public events, printed a Technology Resource Booklet with various useful websites, and created a listing of technology-related classes and clubs offered at libraries, senior centers and community centers with computer labs.