FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Jan. 28, 2025

CONTACT:
MayorPress@sandiego.gov

SAN DIEGO – Today, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors took initial steps to advance behavioral health solutions by directing the Chief Administrative Officer to enter into discussions and explore partnerships and funding strategies to ensure the County meets its obligations to provide mental health care and substance-abuse treatment to San Diegans in need. Following their vote, Mayor Todd Gloria issued this statement:   

“These initial actions are a step in the right direction toward addressing our region’s severe behavioral health crisis. While I commend the Board and am encouraged by this movement, we need more urgent action now.   

“Every day, people suffering from extreme mental illness and substance use disorders are left to struggle in our public spaces without the access to care they desperately need. This is not new – it’s a crisis that has been escalating for years.   

“I urge the Board and County staff to act swiftly and decisively to expand behavioral health services to match the need and deliver on their mandate to support the most vulnerable in our communities.  San Diegans deserve to see very sick people on our streets get the help and care they need.”   

The County of San Diego serves as the region’s health and human services agency and is responsible for providing behavioral health services countywide. However, Mayor Gloria has taken the initiative to advance mental health solutions at the State and regional level since becoming Mayor in December 2020.   

In his 2022 State of the City address, Mayor Gloria called on state leaders to pass legislation creating CARE Court to provides another pathway for people struggling with mental health issues to access care. That year, the Mayor championed the legislation, Senate Bill 1338, that was ultimately successful. CARE Court is up and running in San Diego County.  

In 2023, in his State of the City address, Mayor Gloria followed up by calling on state leaders to reform the state’s conservatorship laws to allow more severely mentally ill Californians to receive live-saving care. Thanks in part to his aggressive advocacy, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 43 later that year. Mayor Gloria called in San Diego County to implement SB 43 in January 2024; however, County supervisors voted to delay implementation until January 2025.  

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