LAKEPORT, Calif. — A town hall next week will feature a discussion between local officials and community members focusing on the growing crisis of homelessness and mental illness in Lake County.
The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, at the Soper Reese Theatre, 275 S. Main Street, Lakeport.
The Lakeport Police Department, city of Lakeport, Lake County Behavioral Health and Lake Family Resource Center are partnering to host the town hall.
Speakers will include Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen, Lakeport City Manager Kevin Ingram, Behavioral Health Director Elise Jones and Lake Family Resource Center Executive Director Lisa Morrow.
Congressman Mike Thompson’s office also plans to be in attendance, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen told Lake County News that he estimates that the Lakeport Police Department’s officers spend 40% of their time addressing homelessness and mental illness.
The town hall’s agenda will include an overview of legislative and voter changes to criminal justice laws over the past decade that impact treatment of individuals, response to mental illness locally, and the constraints faced by agencies in rural areas.
They also will discuss the status of the crisis responder program operated cooperatively by Lakeport Police and the Lake Family Resource Center and funded by a grant.
Organizers hope to hear questions from community members and address their concerns, and to get feedback through a public survey.
Rasmussen said Friday that the Public, Education and Government, or PEG channel 8, will run a livestream of the town hall on the Lakeport Police Department’s YouTube page, with a recording to be replayed on PEG.
Rasmussen said they won’t be able to interact with livestream viewers due to insufficient staffing to manage it.
Because the Soper Reese did not have sufficient internet to run a livestream, Mediacom partnered with Lakeport Police to give them a temporary high speed drop for the event.
Rasmussen offered his thanks to Mediacom for offering the assistance to make the livestream possible.
Contact Chief Rasmussen at 707-263-5491 for more information.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Sept. 27 town hall to bring together agencies, community to discuss homeless and mental illness crisis
- Elizabeth Larson
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