Board proclaims Suicide Prevention and Recovery months; public and staff press for behavioral-health funding and staff retention

The Imperial County Board of Supervisors adopted proclamations declaring September 2025 as National Suicide Prevention Month and as National Recovery Month, and behavioral-health staff used the occasion to highlight services, training programs and community needs. During public comment, several speakers urged the board to preserve wellness-center programs, fund staff recruitment and retention, and support training and recovery events.

The board read and adopted a proclamation recognizing suicide-prevention efforts and highlighting the 2025 theme "We Are Stronger Together." Director Harris called the roll and the proclamation was "passed and adopted" on the record. County behavioral-health staff then addressed the board. Karina Lupien, a therapist who works with youth and young adults, described anxiety and social pressures affecting young people and urged community support and early intervention. A county psychologist, identified in the transcript as Dr. Martino (Velasco), said crisis work and risk assessment underscored the local prevalence and severity of suicidal behavior. Maria Arroyo, a licensed marriage and family therapist with Imperial County Behavioral Health, described local prevention and training programs (Mental Health First Aid and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) that the agency offers to schools, agencies and community members.

Separately, the Board adopted a proclamation declaring September 2025 as National Recovery Month and several behavioral-health program staff invited the public to recovery events and described treatment and stigma-reduction efforts. Staff members emphasized the importance of access to culturally responsive prevention, treatment and recovery services and encouraged attendance at a county recovery walk on Sept. 24 at the Martin Luther King Pavilion.

During the public-comment period, Yvette Garcia, representing the Imperial County Child Abuse Prevention Council, thanked the board for longstanding support and invited supervisors to the group's annual meeting. Public commenters with the county wellness center — Maria Alvarado and Maribel Barrera — urged continued funding for the adult wellness center’s GED program and for competitive pay for wellness-center teachers, who they said earn less than local fast-food wages and whose absence creates anxiety among program participants. Barrera gave a first-person account of arriving at the center one day to find staff absent and said experienced behavioral-health staff must be retained. The board did not take a final funding vote during public comment.

The proclamations were adopted by roll call vote as recorded in the meeting transcript. Staff used the presentation to request continued support for training, outreach, and the county's center-based recovery and wellness programs. No specific appropriation or budget action was recorded in the transcript as part of these proclamations; speakers asked the board to consider funding and pay issues in future budget or personnel discussions.