The Hillcrest Town Council was happy to welcome back County Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher to the Sept. 13 meeting. Chair Fletcher shared an update on a wide range of work that he and the county are doing.
A very pressing issue is the outbreak of Monkeypox in San Diego County—especially within Hillcrest and the LGBTQ+ community. Chair Fletcher shared that while the county began with a deficit of vaccine supply, through informational campaigns, town halls, text alerts and other initiatives, it appears that cases are diminishing—a trend that seems to be happening nationwide. The Chair expressed that he was still working diligently to give more San Diegans access to vaccines to curb any future upswings in the outbreak.
A county-owned lot at the end of Third Avenue was originally slated to be redeveloped into a regional behavioral health hub with a hospital level facility operating to provide services for those suffering from mental health and addiction services. Chair Fletcher shared that in its review process, the county was able to find an existing building near Alvarado Hospital off Interstate 8. This existing hospital-level facility allows the county to move much faster in opening the hub—thereby fast-tracking access to these services. The Third Avenue lot will still be developed as a behavioral health facility, but will provide different services like boarding care, long-term living and perhaps a drug treatment center.
Fletcher also shared that there is a new crisis hotline that has recently opened. The new 9-8-8 hotline will provide callers access to counselors and will be able to dispatch mobile crisis response teams for individuals experiencing behavioral health issues. Residents are encouraged to utilize the new hotline for behavioral health issues over calling 9-1-1.
Following Chair Fletcher, the HTC was joined by a team from Scripps Mercy Health to provide an update on their hospital redevelopment plan. The project, which began four years ago and covers 21 acres, is already underway with the construction of a new parking structure on Sixth Avenue. This eight to nine year construction project will include the new parking structure, a brand new hospital and medical office building. At the urging of the community, the new layout will also have ample outdoor space for patients, families and neighbors to enjoy.
The next Hillcrest Town Council will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 11 and will include an update from Mayor Todd Gloria. The mayor will also take questions and comments from community members. The meeting will be hosted via Zoom. For more information, please visit HillcrestTownCouncil.org.
