‘Blessing Challenge’ in Porter Hill
On Nov. 20, residents in the Porter Hill neighborhood of La Mesa held a “Blessing Challenge” with a goal of gathering 2,000 new pairs of socks and underwear.
The event was organized by neighbors living on Tio Diego who, according to a press release, “recognized this unique time of days before Thanksgiving and a few weeks before Christmas as a great opportunity to show gratefulness for their blessings and use it as a time make a difference in the lives of others.”
For the the Blessing Challenge, each neighbor was invited to donate new pairs of socks and underwear for toddlers and teenagers who are supported by Lutheran Border Concerns Ministry and Mil Generaciones (Thousand Generations) in Mexico.
On Nov. 20, the organizers decorated a red pickup with red and green balloons and played Christmas carols while driving up and down the streets of Porter Hill collecting the socks and underwear.
Many neighbors placed bags of donations on their porch and some even carried them out to the people picking up the items.
In less than two hours, 1,029 pairs of colorful socks and 757 pairs of underwear filled the pickup and were delivered to the two missions where they will become parts of Christmas gifts for children in two orphanages and needy families.
“Their generosity demonstrated that the members of the Porter Hill community were mindful that they were ‘blessed to be a blessing,’” the press release concluded.
GHD boosts scholarships amid worker shortage
The Grossmont Healthcare District’s (GHD) annual scholarship cycle has opened with opportunities offered to local residents working or studying in the health field within GHD boundaries.
This year, more than $210,000 has been allocated to the scholarship program to help alleviate the challenges local clinics and hospitals are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to national surveys, 43% of health care workers are suffering from work overload and 49% have burnout, leading to emotional exhaustion and driving industry scarcity.
A critical strategy for addressing this crippling shortage is strengthening opportunities for advancement available to the local health care workforce. Dr. Daniel Enemark, Senior Economist at San Diego Workforce Partnership, sees the investment of recruiting and preserving medical professionals as a priority.
“San Diego County needs a talented and diverse health care workforce to serve our population,” said Dr. Enemark. “That requires training more San Diegans to meet the growing demand for talent, and it also requires paying higher wages to attract and retain skilled workers. Scholarship programs are a significant step toward making the health care talent pipeline wider and more equitable.”
To foster growth in the health care field, the scholarship program’s purpose is to remove financial barriers in education and professional development. The District recognizes the impact it can have on meeting the necessity to build a diverse, local health care workforce.
Among the available scholarships are two non-renewable scholarships in the amount of $5,000 for first place and $3,000 for second place to be awarded to Registered Nursing students based on their community involvement. Additionally, there are five scholarships in the amount of $3,500 each for students in a healthcare related technical program. Those pursuing advanced degrees also are supported, with up to five $10,000 student scholarships for behavioral health professionals, and up to three $7,000 scholarships for Registered Nurses who have been accepted into Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant programs.
GHD will also recognize local high school students interested in a health care career with scholarship grants, with $113,850 available for students attending traditional colleges and career training programs at the Health Occupations Center based in Santee.
The application deadline for all scholarships is Feb. 11. Interested students can learn more at www.grossmonthealthcare.org/community/scholarships.
New president named for GCCCD
Debbie Justeson has been unanimously selected by her fellow board members to serve as president of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Governing Board in 2022.
The veteran trustee and longtime educator, who was first elected to the board in 2010, will assume her new role in January 2022. Board members also voted Tuesday night for current Board President Brad Monroe, to serve as vice president, and Board Member Elena Adams as clerk of the board.
The first Asian American to take the Governing Board helm, Justeson has been an educator for about 35 years. She is a math teacher at San Diego Virtual School, and also teaches for the Department of Teacher Education at San Diego State University. She previously taught math at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges. Justeson said she is honored to take on the new role.
“We have an incredible district and I brag about it every chance I get,” she said.
Justeson will continue to prioritize the advancement of diversity, equity and inclusion at the District, ensuring the District’s financial strength, and advocating for civility and respect in public discourse.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, dates were set for the 2022 board meetings which will be held electronically during the current COVID-related public health emergency. When public health conditions permit, meetings will resume in-person and alternate between Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges. The Governing Board regular meetings will be held at 4:15 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month in January, February and April 2022, and on the second Tuesday of the month in March and May-December 2022.
The district’s two colleges, Grossmont College in El Cajon and Cuyamaca College in Rancho San Diego, together serve about 24,000 students.
For information about the college district, go to www.gcccd.edu.
Meth report shows good, bad news
More than 42,000 kilograms of methamphetamine were seized at the U.S. Mexico border last year making the San Diego County “ground zero” for the meth crisis. That’s according to the 2021 Report Card issued by the San Diego County Methamphetamine Strike Force.
The Meth Strike Force was established by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors in 1996 and has become a collaboration at the federal, state and local levels, with contributions from more than 70 participating agencies. The annual MSF Report Card provides data from 2020 on leading indicators of meth problems, including a steady increase in emergency room discharges for amphetamine dependence in the East region over a 10-year period beginning in 2009.
“San Diego is ground zero for the methamphetamine crisis,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said at a news conference announcing the findings.
The number of misdemeanor and felony arrests for methamphetamine when measured from 2016 to 2020 showed a decrease of more than 71% in La Mesa, 68% in Lemon Grove, 58% in Santee and almost 27% in El Cajon. Countywide including East County, unincorporated areas patrolled by the Sheriff’s Department showed a 45% decrease. There was also a 21% decrease between 2015 and 2019 in emergency department discharges for amphetamine dependence and misuse at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa. When it comes to countywide meth-related fatalities, officials painted a bleaker picture.
“Methamphetamine is still the number one killer and it is also the number one driver of violence in our community,” Stephan said. “Crime and methamphetamine are highly interlinked. For law enforcement, one of the reasons we focus on methamphetamine is that it is the drug most linked to violent crime.”
A snapshot of the latest statistics in San Diego County shows there were 722 meth related deaths in 2020, a 92% increase since 2016. Almost half (48%) of those deaths were between 45 and 64 years old. There were more than 40 emergency department discharges per day for amphetamines in 2019.
“We see these deaths so commonly, that now in our daily reports the descriptions of the circumstances of the people that die are so common, that we can almost guess the autopsy findings and toxicology results before we do the autopsy,” Dr. Steven Campman, chief medical examiner of San Diego County said.
Primary meth treatment admissions in San Diego County in 2020 were 52% male and 48% female.
“Methamphetamine Use Disorder may be one of the most damaging and difficult to treat forms of addiction. There’s no easy solution,” said Dr. Luke Bergmann, director of San Diego County’s Behavioral Health Services department. “Behind each number are multiple lives, individuals, families, friends, real people.”
Anyone seeking treatment or who wants to help someone who is, can contact the San Diego County Access and Crisis Line at (888) 724-7240 or by calling 211. The Meth Hotline at (877) NO-2-METH can be used to report meth related crimes and remain anonymous. The Meth Strike Force for additional resources can be reached online at www.no2meth.org.
