Community Solutions Supports Measure A

Dear Editor,

Since 1972, when Community Solutions was founded, we’ve been working to help people overcome challenges and reach for their dreams when life knocks them off their feet.

There are many in our community who face significant obstacles such as homelessness, domestic violence, child abuse and mental illness. Many of them also live in poverty. One of the things poverty does is reduce options. 

Last year, we helped more than 12,000 people make positive changes in their lives. One of our key partners in that effort was Santa Clara County.  

We work collaboratively with the county to provide shelter and supportive services for women and children fleeing domestic violence; to help youth make the transition, at 18, from foster care to independent living; and to provide a crisis line that’s available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with immediate interventions for youth and families.

But successive state and federal funding cuts are eroding the county’s ability to fund essential services such as these. In the last four years, the county has had to cut more than $600 million from its budget. These cuts are felt directly by our agency and our clients. And there’s no relief on the horizon. The county is projecting budget deficits of more than $160 million every year through 2010. The impact of these cuts would be devastating.

We have partnered with the county over the last four years to minimize the impact of the cuts on our clients and our community. But after so many years of consecutive cuts, our ability to increase efficiencies, increase workloads and minimize expenses is at its limit. And the need for services continues to increase. So, what can we do?

We can pass Measure A, which will give the county a local funding source it can control and use to address local needs. While it can’t solve all of our needs, it is the only way to ensure that critical services are maintained, and that that everyone in our community has the opportunity to realize their potential and become a positive force in our community.

Erin O’Brien, President/CEO

Community Solutions for children, families and individuals