Documents

• LGBTQ Resource Project Staff Report

• Proposed Animal Services Transfer to DNSO

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The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will be asked to approve a partnership with Queer Humboldt and local therapist Thomas Kelem to create a database of resources for the local LGBTQ community.

The proposed Del Norte County LGBTQ Resource Project comes from Del Norte County Department of Health and Human Services Director Ranell Brown. The goal is to improve the mental health and quality of life for LGBTQ individuals in Del Norte, according to the county’s staff report. The project aims to create a safer community for LGBTQ individuals living in Del Norte.

“Creating accessibility and awareness of resources helps create community, reduces isolation and provides education,” the staff report states. “It is shown that isolation and lack of a visible community has a negative impact on the mental health and contributes to suicide of LGBTQ individuals, especially youth, who have far less access to the greater world outside our county.”

Queer Humboldt was selected as the fiscal sponsor through the Behavioral Health Branch’s development of the county’s 2022-23 Mental Health Services Act Annual Plan, according to the staff report. The contract is expected to cost up to $15,000 with state and federal dollars being used to fund the project.

There isn’t an exact number of LGBTQ residents living in Del Norte County, but the project aims to reach more than 1,500 individuals per year, according to Brown’s staff report.

Del Norte County supervisors on Tuesday may also approve the transfer of the Animal Services Division to the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office.

This process began in July when supervisors directed administrators to examine “alternative options” for Animal Services, which is currently under the umbrella of the county Agriculture Department. On Aug. 23, supervisors accepted a recommendation that the DNSO take over animal services.

The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Flynn Center, 981 H Street in Crescent City. The meeting’s agenda and staff reports as well as links to Zoom are available at www.co.del-norte.ca.us.

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