Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Residents urge Crook County to address SNAP changes and support BestCare housing for people with severe mental illness
Loading...
Summary
Two members of the public told commissioners that recent SNAP rule changes and housing shortages are likely to leave people with severe and persistent mental illness without needed food and shelter. A counselor and a volunteer organizer described high local need and asked the board to convene solutions and support community efforts.
Mary Beyer, a volunteer and co-owner of a local business, and Aliyah Fern, a licensed professional counselor, used the public-comment period on Nov. 5 to urge county leaders to address food insecurity, SNAP-rule changes and the housing needs of people with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI).
Beyer described hands-on volunteering at Craig's Compassionate Cafe and invited commissioners and residents to visit the kitchen and dining program. "Please maybe come stop by... and sit with those people and talk to them. They all have a story, and it's important to hear," Beyer said, describing daily lunches that are open to the community.
Fern, who said she works with clients who have SPMI, told commissioners she found public assumptions about people with serious mental illness inaccurate and said housing programs such as BestCare's housing initiative deserve support. "What we found is that 30% of our community is on SNAP," Fern said, summarizing local research done with the farmers market; she urged leaders to pursue solutions that include low-income housing and SNAP access at the farmers market.
Both speakers asked the county to coordinate with schools, service providers and food programs to reduce gaps created by SNAP administrative changes; no formal action was requested but the comments were recorded for staff follow-up.
What to watch: commissioners and staff may choose to follow up with local school-district food programs, the farmers market and BestCare staff to align county services with community needs and SNAP-access efforts.
