TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – President Donald Trump’s executive order regarding the unhoused and their mental health covers several areas that Pima County says it already addresses.
Expanding services depends on what, if any, additional funding could come to southern Arizona.
Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said that accelerating the treatment of addiction and mental health issues requires more than a mandate.
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“We need to make clear that not all homeless people are committing crime and those that are committing crime are being held accountable,” Conover said.
On Friday, she addressed concerns about Trump’s executive order titled “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.”
First of all, Conover said that those subject to civil commitment will still be done according to state statute, with a primary mental health diagnosis to qualify.
“That language is not in the executive order,” Conover said. “The second piece, I would say, lucky us to live in Tucson and Pima County. Not everyone has a secured behavioral health hospital like the Crisis Response Center.”
A Pima County memorandum said that the CRC has about 700 adult visits per month, half of those brought by law enforcement, and 150 youth visits. These visits avoid taking emergency room resources and provide mental health and substance abuse assistance.
But Conover said the unhoused refusing care is the persistent issue with those experiencing mental health issues, or self-medicating via substance abuse.
“They’re trying to treat themselves, but they need actual, real treatment from medical health professionals, and that’s a real gap that we’re looking at,” Conover said. “It’s top of mind for me, and so I am building an advisory committee.”
And expanding the reach by serving more people with substance and mental health services on a long-term basis with continuing care and housing requires funding. Conover said that the local response between the county and the city seeks to make the most of limited resources.
“We’d rather come up with some smart policies that fit us where we are and make sense for our community before the feds or even the state direct us to do things we think are illegal—which happens—and completely unfunded or both,” Conover said.
That committee will have members from all areas, such as the medical and mental health fields, and that could require a month or so.
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