Caroline Donahoe l Contra Costa Youth Journalism
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of stories reporting on the challenges nonprofit organizations in Contra Costa County face as changes in federal laws and policies go into effect.
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being of no concern, Contra Costa County District 5 Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston ranks herself as a “10” when it comes to the expected federal funding cuts to social services.
“One of the programs that’s being threatened is Medi-Cal, which is what we call Medicaid here in California,” Scales-Preston said. “It is a huge deal. That’s our health care. It’s something we are all worried about.”
Other programs in danger include Head Start, Meals on Wheels, White Pony Express and more that provide support to the most vulnerable, Scales-Preston said. White Pony Express, based in Concord, recovers food from grocers, farmers markets, restaurants and wholesale vendors and distributes it to 98 nonprofit service providers.
“We, as the Contra County Board of Supervisors, are looked at as the social safety net. It makes it harder on us to make sure that all of these services will be in place and not impacted,” she said.
Scales-Preston is one of five government panelists who appeared Sept. 3 at the Walnut Creek Library for a panel discussion is sponsored by the League of Women Voters Diablo Valley (LWVDV) about “the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’s’ impact on local health, education and social services,” according to the LWVDV.
Other officials at the event were Walnut Creek Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Wilk, Concord Mayor Carlyn Obringer, Antioch Mayor Pro Tem Louie Rocha and Contra Costa County Schools Superintendent Lynn Mackey. Scales-Preston said officials running all of the programs she mentioned, along with area hospital officials, have reached out to her, expressing distress.
“They all have great concerns about what’s coming down the line,” she said.
The impression that Wilk gave was slightly different, stating that Walnut Creek probably won’t suffer as greatly because as a “sales-tax dependent city” it is more dependent on consumer spending than on federal financial support. Still, Wilk said officials with local programs serving the homeless, like Trinity Center, which receives up to 25% of federal funding, are worried.
“I was just with our Congressman Mark DeSaulnier at the Trinity Center,” he said. “This is difficult. There is no good news. He’s going to try to mitigate the bad news and hope to reduce the impact that these nonprofits will feel. Unfortunately, the money that is being cut back in those areas is often going to federal enforcement, or ICE as we know them.”
While panels with other officials are a huge help in coming together to solve problems and reach goals, Wilk said he feels that these discussions also serve another purpose.
“I really do think it’s to inform. I don’t think people here know enough. … They hear about the cuts, they see ICE, they see people being deported, they’ve heard that there are budget cuts that are going to impact these different groups, but they don’t see what that means.”
He attributes this to an unfortunate decline in local media, but says he believes these panels are a big help in getting the public to truly know what is going on. Scales-Preston says she isn’t sure how Contra Costa cities will actually fill the cuts and that she’s especially worried about what these cuts may do to the county’s undocumented community.
“They are looking at making cuts there, where our undocumented community will be unable to receive any type of health care benefits. … People shouldn’t be afraid to take people to school, they shouldn’t be afraid to go to a doctor, go to a grocery store, go to work, to live their life normally,” Scales-Preston said.
And what can the average person do in the face of threatened social programs?
“If you’re passionate about an issue, there is no better time than now to become involved with that issue and make your voice heard,” Wilk said.
Contra Costa Youth Journalism is a collaborative effort involving educational institutions and professional news organizations dedicated to expanding opportunities for Contra Costa County high school students to inform Contra Costa County residents about relevant local news.