The Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services Behavioral Health Branch has been awarded a $430,000 Behavioral Health Justice Intervention Services Project from the state to assist the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office in responding to mental health crisis calls starting next week. “This grant will help increase opportunities to stabilize individuals in mental health crisis in the community […]
Department of Health and Human Services
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Sofia Pereira Stepping Down from Arcata Council, Named New Humboldt County Public Health Director
Arcata Mayor Sofia Pereira, who has also served as the county’s Emergency Operations Center operation chief during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced she will be stepping down from the Arcata City Council by June 25 after being named Public Health’s new director, replacing Michele Stephens. “Starting June 27, I will begin a new chapter as the […]
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Fortuna-Based Pediatrician Receives $5.1 Million for Youth Mental Health Crisis Residential Facility
With the help of the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Children’s Behavioral Health Division, Fortuna-based pediatrician Evan Buxbaum received a $5.1 million grant from the Investment in Mental Health Wellness Grant Program for Children to create the county’s first crisis stabilization and residential treatment center for youth. “Our children had been experiencing […]
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DHHS’s Behavioral Health Warm Line is There to Listen
It would be an understatement to say this pandemic has changed our lives, that the Black Lives Matter movement was merely amplified after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, that California witnessed one of the worst wildfire seasons, that this past election was one of the most contested and that the dire consequences from the spread […]
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Rent, Mortgage Relief Available for Qualifying County Residents
The Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services has created the Humboldt County Eviction Prevention Program, which provides relief funding through the CARES Act for county residents who have fallen behind rent and mortgage payments since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March. Income qualified residents can receive up to $5,000 in payments directly to […]
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Test for Second Possible Coronavirus Case ‘Indeterminate’
A novel coronavirus test on a second person who was showing symptoms of the respiratory disease after returning from a trip to mainland China has come back “indeterminate,” according to the county Department of Health and Human Services. “Regardless, we are managing the second individual exactly the same as the confirmed case as we have […]
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‘A Family to Be With’
Tiffany Strango’s philosophy is to love all children who enter her home as if they are her own. In her Eureka house, children are not pieces of paper and beds are not numbers. They are people and sanctuaries, respectively. Tiffany Strango never had the overwhelming urge to birth children but she and her husband George […]
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County Confirms First Local Whooping Cough Case Since 2016
Humboldt County public health officials are on alert after a Eureka teenager tested positive for the highly contagious whooping cough earlier this week. According to a press release from the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, a follow up investigation identified 40 people who may have had contact with the teenager while he […]
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PIT Count Finds Almost 1,500 People Without Shelter in Humboldt
Almost 1,500 people spent the night of Jan. 22 without shelter in Humboldt County, according to results of the Point in Time count released by the county Department of Health and Human Services. The biennial count held Jan. 23 found that 1,473 people had experienced unsheltered homelessness the night before, more than double the number […]
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HumCo Health Officials Eyeing Measles Outbreak in Washington, Bracing for the Worst
Humboldt County officials are activating a response protocol amid a measles outbreak in a Washington state suburb of Portland that has seen at least 31 people contract the highly contagious viral disease. “We’re basically bracing ourselves, crossing our fingers and hoping this doesn’t happen but making sure we’re prepared if it does,” said Humboldt County […]
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Planned EBT Card Outage This Weekend
The Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services is reaching out to let residents who use electronic benefit transfer cards, or EBTs, know they will not be able to use their accounts for a 24-hour period this weekend due to a statewide upgrade. Holders will not be able to buy food or get cash […]
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County Announces $7.5 Million Grant for School Mental Health Services
The Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services announced today that $7.5 million in grant funding will pour into the county over the next four years to provide additional mental health services in local schools. Coupled with two additional grants, that means more than $9 million in mental health funding will be coming to […]