In early February, I received a phone call from a relative who was in crisis. She informed me that she was recently released from prison after serving 12 years, and that she needed assistance immediately. Jasmine (name changed to protect her anonymity) felt herself cracking, and needed help so that she wouldn’t go back to prison. She just needed to receive help. Jasmine informed me that she has hit a rough week and has reached rock bottom, and for the last 5 days she had been homeless, sleeping on benches, and selling her body in an attempt to obtain money to stay warm. I felt confident when I informed her that I would be able to get her a warm bed, some food and feminine products she asked for. My confidence was spurred by the services that our Santa Clara County claims to be able to provide for the at-risk population here, particularly those re-entering from incarceration. My heart was broken when I found out that this county's claims to be able to help an individual in crises was fraudulent, as I found out the hard way. I tried every resource the County claimed to provide, and every door was a shut one.
The First 24 Hours
Before I tried to county resources, I brought her to SV De-Bug - the community group that I am a part of. The people there instantly asked her if she was hungry, while setting up her phone, and making sure she warmed up and had a hot meal after being in the rain all night. They then took her to the Santa Clara County Re-Entry Center. The Re-entry Center informed her that because their database claimed she was on parole in a different county, she was ineligible to receive Santa Clara County resources. Jasmine informed the reentry employees that she had transferred her parole to Santa Clara County from another county and that she had a parole officer here in Santa Clara County. The re-entry employees informed her that because their computer says she on parole in another county, she was ineligible to receive any help. She was told to inform the parole officer, and to figure it out for herself. Jasmine called her California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation parole officer and informed her of the situation and that she needed help with housing, clothing, and other resources. Her parole officer informed her that she should go to the Re-entry Center because they provide services for people exactly in the situation that she's in. She was caught in a loop of being denied services, each agency pointing to the other.
Jasmine informed her parole officer that she had just come from the Re-Entry Center and that the Re-Entry Center informed her that because she was not paroled to Santa Clara County she could not receive Santa Clara County resources. Becauses CDCR did not follow their own policy and procedures, Jasmine was not going to get the resources that other people who are similarly situated would have received. We were atleast able to her into a 24 hour detox, just so that she can at least have a warm bed and shower for the night, while we figured out where to get her more sustaining resources that Santa Clara County has for our homeless and mentally ill population. The sobering center connected her with a case worker that was supposed to find her housing assistance.
48 Hours In
Jasmine contacted a case worker to get admitted into another detox center, and was informed she could not be admitted due to not receiving a referral from her another case worker. Jasmine then contacted another county supported non-profit and there she was informed that she could not be admitted without a medical clearance, and someone should contact her. Jasmine waited anxiously counting her 24 hours in a sobering center down, anticipating fully to be admitted so that she could get the help she needed. The phone call never came. When she was leaving the sobering center, her case worker informed her of a temporary warming center on Tully Road. The city had opened up a few community centers to be “warming centers'' due to the extreme rain, cold, and dangerous weather conditions. The case worker said she was referring Jasmine there to atleast get out of the storm. I went to the detox center and picked up Jasmine. We then began calling around to find somewhere that had intake for someone in crisis. Jasmine also called around and got forwarded to leave a message, or would be informed by the intake officer at some shelter that she can come in the next day if she was still in state crisis.
After several calls without fruitful results, we took her to the warming center on Tully Road. The same warming center that was referred to her by her then case worker. When Jasmine went to the warming center, she was once again turned away. There the intake officer informed her that she had not been referred, so therefore she could not have a bed. I was present and inquired as to who dropped the ball, because she had been referred to come to the center for housing. I was informed that the referral was never completed, so therefore they could not allow her to fill the vacant beds even though they had multiple vacant beds that I could see. We left their dejected, and without hope. We put together our resources to put Jasmine in a motel room for the night, so that the cold of the world doesn't penetrate her heart and so she didn't have the urge to be a stat in the District Attorneys recidivism slide for new and harsher laws.
Community Responds to Crisis the County Denied
The next day we at De-Bug got in touch with Ujima - a community organization dedicated to the health and well-being of the Black community in the San Jose region -and they happily reached back to assist someone from their community. The assistance that Jasmine now received was what the community was expecting from our county, but at all points of entry, Jasmine was denied access to receive County assistance in a time of crisis. It's unfortunate that the at-risk population here in Santa Clara County can not expect to receive help if they are in a time of crisis.
The lesson that I learned from this crisis is that Santa Clara County does not allocate enough useful resources to help those who need the help. Santa Clara County and the city of San Jose are not equipped to meet those individuals and the point when the “at-risk” reach out to ask for help. I learned that the power of community is more resourceful and powerful to help the arc of transformation.
Through the help of the community, Jasmine was able to get out of the storm that not only was the current weather conditioner, but also the storm within herself. She has been placed in temporary housing and is currently attempting to find permanent housing and employment to help her take care of herself. She is sober, and not considering the options of selling herself to survive. She is in a better mental space and her growth is resembling the adage “The rose that grew from the concrete”. Simply put I learned from this that the strength in community is stronger than the greed of uninformed politicians.
What I learned through this experience is the only “help” that our at-risk population will receive from the resources that Santa Clara county offers will be in the form of policing, arrest, and incarceration if the individual in crisis has a mental health breakdown. We as a County and a city owe the population that call Silicon Valley home a system that functions properly, and is adequate for everyone.
