Add To Favorites
The Press Democrat - 7/18/2024
Following a national search, a
Alexander, 61, joined the health services department in 2012 as an alcohol and drug abuse counselor and rose through the ranks, becoming a case manager with the transitional youth team and other programs before starting to work on homelessness issues in 2018.
“James stood out from all the other candidates because of his extensive experience, skill set and commitment. He was the unanimous choice of the selection panel,” county Health Services Director
Alexander’s base salary will be
A focus on interim shelter
As its chief, Alexander’s responsibilities are to include setting the division’s priorities and developing programs for homelessness services.
Working with people who are homeless to get them into housing that also provides services such as counseling, medical care and substance abuse treatment will be high on his list, he said.
“I really want to focus on our interim shelters. We want to have a place where people can stabilize as they move toward their permanent supportive housing,” he said.
“The interim shelter sites … give us the tool, the capacity to be able to place people who are otherwise out in the encampments. It gives us the ability to offer them a place where they can stabilize and get wrap around services to go further on their journey,” he said.
Those efforts will revolve around Eliza’s Village, two former juvenile hall dormitories being renovated into temporary housing near the Los Guilicos tiny home emergency housing site, he said.
Eliza’s Village can house about 80 people, Alexander said.
About 18 people moved there in June from the emergency tent shelter at the county administration center in
“Eliza's Village will be our model, it will be where we focus our attention,” Alexander said.
Establishing relationships
In an interview Thursday, Alexander highlighted the importance of outreach teams consistently “engaging” with people who are homeless, especially those considered chronically homeless.
The number of people who are chronically homeless rose 10% this year, from 550 in 2023 to 606 this year, according to the latest annual count of homelessness in
“It can't just be a one-time meeting. There has to be some kind of rapport to really effect change and let people know these services are available in order to assist and help them on their housing journey,” he said. “It's very necessary for these relationships to be made.”
The importance of building those relationships can be seen within the context of the
For example, in the event another encampment develops on the
Still, he added: “We can't force them to (engage). They're free to choose whether or not they wish to engage with us or work with us. And in the event that you have individuals who actually refuse to work with us and law enforcement chooses to clear an encampment, they are well within their authority to do so.”
‘Not judging anyone’
One “major challenge” Alexander will face, said Rivera, is implementing a sweeping state initiative dubbed Cal-AIM to generate more revenue for the
The initiative is intended to improve outcomes among low income
Alexander said he will take a nuts-and-bolts approach to ensuring that the county will be able to qualify for reimbursem*nt for those services — which, of course, is what would allow his division to provide them.
“In order to fully utilize (Cal-AIM) we have to document, document, document and have data to show all of our interactions,” he said. “That will help with funding streams moving forward.
“It's just a matter of making sure that if I have my team engaging 10 people at an encampment, we have to just make good notes and develop the data from those engagements,” he said.
Alexander, a
“It really gives me the perspective of not judging anyone but of wanting to be of service to all of my fellow human beings. None of us are above anyone. We’re all human beings trying to do our best on this journey,” Alexander said.
“Some people have more barriers than others, let there be no doubt. And there are certain barriers that stand in the way,” he said. “But I am optimistic that by engaging with another human being and listening to their story, we can make a change, we can make a difference.”
You can reach Staff Writer
___
(c)2024 The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.)
Visit The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.) at www.pressdemocrat.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Nationwide News
American Legion to have input in veterans memorial park
THREE FORKS HISTORY: Hospital focused on Great War veterans
News Archive