\u201cBecause of Measure A, and because the county was very careful with belt tightening and their prioritization of the safety net services, it could have been worse,\u201d Kyra Kazantzis, CEO of the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cI would say the most impacted departments and services are in the public health arena, in the behavioral health arena and in prevention services of different sorts, (including) youth.\u201d<\/p>\n
A critical part of preserving services came after county voters approved Measure A<\/a>, a five-eighths cent sales tax increase, last November. The measure adds $337 million in annual revenue, which officials have said will be used to bolster local public hospitals.<\/p>\n The H.R. 1 federal spending bill creates $1 billion in annual losses for Santa Clara County<\/a>, slashing funding for things\u00a0such as\u00a0Medi-Cal and food aid<\/a>. Adding to the challenges is the county\u2019s\u00a0slow growth<\/a> in property tax revenue, where expenses continue to outpace money coming in.<\/p>\n Nonprofits serving domestic violence<\/a> survivors will see a 10% reduction in county funding this fiscal year, down from an initially proposed 19%. The cuts will come primarily from financial assistance programs that help pay for rooms, transportation and food while survivors are in hotels.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re prioritizing responding to crises, when people need crisis services or hoteling to get out of an unsafe situation,\u201d Rachel Montoya, CEO of Community Solutions, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cBut the length of time we\u2019re going to be able to support that client is going to be impacted.\u201d<\/p>\n This could increase homelessness for survivors, or it could mean the victim returns back to their perpetrator because there\u2019s not a safe place for them to go, Montoya said.<\/p>\n Colsaria Henderson, CEO of Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, said cuts will not only affect the work they do, but also the group\u2019s ability to refer people to other medical and homeless services, since many nonprofits work hand in hand.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cuts to our community are a domino effect,\u201d Henderson told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cOur client assistance funds are not a \u2018nice to have.\u2019 They\u2019re a necessity in the work that we do.\u201d<\/p>\n The instability of government funds has caused organizations such as Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY) to rethink its funding strategy and regroup on what core programs it wants to maintain in spite of the winds of political change. That includes reaching out to philanthropy groups for funding.<\/p>\n As an organization that focuses on diverting youth from the school-to-prison pipeline<\/a>, FLY Managing Director Kristopher Scott said the impacts may be seen a few years down the road with more people in the juvenile justice system.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been doing this for a while, and I don\u2019t know what else these schools can go to that will be comparable to what we and a couple other nonprofits were doing on campus,\u201d Scott told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n This year, FLY has had to cut about half of its programming in the county, including its middle school program providing one-on-one mentorship to at-risk youth and a popular legal education program that encouraged civic engagement. These programs served about 500 youth annually.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving done this for so long, the funding landscape ebbs and flows all the time,\u201d Scott said. \u201cI hear from my predecessors that things (that happened) in the early 2000s are very similar.\u201d<\/p>\n Don Taylor, CEO of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, said these cuts are happening during a time when demand for services grows as more people are pushed off Medi-Cal and other safety nets.<\/p>\n \u201cProviding prevention services will better support folks from having to use the higher cost crisis services,\u201d Taylor told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWhen those prevention services aren\u2019t there, the needs tend to build and build, and then access happens at a much later point.\u201d<\/p>\n
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