Hi, this is Vanessa, your ENLIGHTENMENT salon host.
You know homelessness is a major problem in California. And yes, you feel for the people living without a safe place to call home. But with a problem this big and expensive to fix, how do we know how or where to help effectively?
The good news is there are organizations and individuals coming up with innovative programs and methods. They may be under the radar but they’re thinking outside the box to find people homes and give them tools to rebuild their lives.
If their test pilots and startup projects are showing real results, maybe with some more exposure, funding and community support, they could roll them out statewide. I’m inviting them to come talk about what they’re doing, what results they’re seeing, what they need to be more impactful, and how you and I could help.
Next up is Tommie Trevino, a drug and alcohol abuse counselor at UC Davis Medical Center. He was an addict for over 30 years, taking everything from marijuana to meth, and he suffered from homelessness. A near-death experience made him decide to take control of his life, and now he’s at UC Davis Hospital helping to train the medical staff on how to treat homeless people who come off the street or families that bring them into the ER to find help with the disease.
After reading his op-ed for CalMatters on this subject, I invited Tommie to come talk about his life and how he’s helping addicts get clean. He is bringing a couple of his colleagues to discuss with us what’s needed to do drug treatment better and more effectively in California, and how we as citizens can help.
Join me, and bring your own questions — nothing is too dumb or too small to ask.
OUR GUESTS:
* Sandra Overby, addiction counselor at UC Davis
* Steven Ryan, owner of Living Stone Sober Living, a transitional-living and recovery program in Stockton for men struggling with substance abuse
* Tommie Trevino, drug and alcohol abuse counselor at UC Davis Medical Center
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This salon talk will be at Sierra 2 Center in Curtis Park — we’ll be meeting in Classroom 10. I’ll bring some refreshments (I won’t be able to get a liquor license in time for this talk, so sorry in advance that we can’t pour wine or beer) and please feel free to BYO food and nonalcoholic beverages.
For more information about ENLIGHTENMENT and about California Groundbreakers, go to californiagroundbreakers.org
