ORANGE, Calif.—Orange County officials gathered on March 9 to refocus on the county’s approach to providing services to those experiencing suffering mental distress. Local officials met alongside U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra at the Be Well OC campus—an organization to address mental health and substance abuse disorders among residents—to acknowledge the county’s adopted resolutions to address its mental health crisis. “We’re serious about treating mental health, the same way we treat physical health,” Becerra said. In partnership with Be Well OC, Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the Orange Police Department established a new approach to addressing mental health issues around county residents—including homeless individuals—by deploying specialists whenever someone is experiencing a mental health episode. Previously, the county would deploy law enforcement to the scene who Becerra says are not trained to address the situations properly. When receiving a call to address a mental health crisis, a …
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