AFSC CA Healing Justice is part of the Care First Community Coalition (CFCC), community groups and impacted families in Alameda County advocating for the county to fully implement the values of providing care for people facing mental illness, substance use disorders, homelessness, poverty, and racism, instead of criminalizing and jailing them. For someone with a serious mental illness, it is often easier to get mental health care in Santa Rita Jail than in the community. The county adopted a policy in 2021 and 58 recommendations in 2024 to change that system.
The CFCC advocates through meetings directly with county officials, speaking in public meetings, and working with families affected by these problems. In July 2026, as part of the county’s Behavioral Advisory Board, we presented a report (coordinated by AFSC staff) to the county board of supervisors on progress and obstacles for advancing Care First.
One of the key needs for people seeking care is for housing that manages medication and provides meals, called Licensed Board & Cares. These homes are often operated by families and receive inadequate support to stay afloat. A shocking number have closed across California. Yet they often fall through the cracks between county housing and behavioral health agencies, despite a specific Care First recommendation to support them.
Another need is for services when people have been arrested and released pending trial. A state supreme court decision last year practically eliminated money bail for most people in the county jail. But without support, many people are on the street with few means to take care of themselves and to make it to a court date.
A Pre-Trial Services Program begun in Alameda County earlier this year has been deeply successful in finding housing, connecting people with services, providing transit cards and other needs, so that re-arrest rates have fallen by more than half. But the program was funded for just one year, and the county’s probation department has said they don’t support funding it for another year.
Instead, although Probation has never shown interest in such support, it’s proposed an expensive replacement program that would provide less support, with no credible rationale. The CFCC has collaborated with the community organization contracted to provide the services, Restore Oakland, Interfaith Coalition for Justice in our Jails, and others to ensure this successful program doesn’t go under.
When bureaucratic entrenchment and indifference persist, we can be relentless in our care and advocacy.