Rep. Lieu Secures $1.5 million in Federal Funds for Santa Monica Behavioral Health Initiatives

January 4, 2023 2:19 PM

Last week, President Biden signed a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package that includes $1.5 million to support the City of Santa Monica’s initiatives to address behavioral health needs of vulnerable residents. The funding in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, is part of a total of $22.6 million in Community Project Funding that Congressman Ted Lieu successfully secured for 15 projects in his district. The funding received by the City of Santa Monica will be used to seed other funding from public and private sources in order to look toward implementing innovative solutions.

“I am pleased to have secured $22,601,025 in Community Project Funding for our community,” Rep. Lieu said. “These projects will help tackle some of the most pressing needs in our district including providing mental health and housing care for vulnerable people.”

To kick off this work, the City of Santa Monica has engaged the public benefit corporation Initium Health to lead public engagement and analyze different models of behavioral health care for Santa Monica. Initium will begin by interviewing community leaders and subject matter experts, followed by public listening sessions to begin in the coming months. The firm will make recommendations to the Council based on its findings by fall 2023.

“We are fortunate to have the continued support of Rep. Lieu in securing federal funding to address the behavioral health needs of our community,” said Mayor Gleam Davis. “This funding is critical given the national fentanyl crisis and our ongoing challenges with isolation coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and homelessness. We look forward to the beginning of the community engagement process.”

In his press announcement, Rep. Lieu’s office shared: “The twelve-bill government funding package will create good-paying American jobs, grow opportunity for the middle class and small businesses, and provide a lifeline for working families. Taken together, the funding for California’s 33rd District and the funding increases for critical government programs will continue to reverse decades of disinvestment in our communities.”

More information
Rep. Lieu press release >

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