West Fresnans right to raise a stink to get county services restored to their neighborhood
The recent controversy over important government services that were no longer available to residents in west Fresno has been settled, at least for now.
Fresno County officials listened to residents’ concerns and restored services at the West Fresno Regional Center. In fact, those officials say more services to benefit west Fresnans are there now than ever before. That is good news, and is the way things should be.
But the lingering question is, why did the residents have to push to have things like eligibility workers and job placement help restored to the West Fresno Regional Center after county officials consolidated programs in Clovis? Why was such assistance scaled back in a part of the city that has higher poverty and greater need than almost anywhere else?
It was just the latest example of local government decision-making that harmed, not helped, the more than 40,000 people living in west Fresno.
“There should be no need for anyone from west Fresno to ever have to get on a bus and go to Clovis for services,” said Fresno County District 1 Supervisor Brian Pacheco, who represents the community. “You should be able to get everything you need in west Fresno.
“My hope and my intent is to keep it there for many years to come.”
Amen to that. But this latest saga involving west Fresno did not start out well.
COVID and consolidation
Having a center in west Fresno that could benefit the mostly low-income residents living there was a brainchild of former county Supervisor Phil Larson, who saw it as a place where residents could get all kinds of help, such as determining eligibility for assistance programs or referrals for jobs.
Located at 142 E. California Ave., the center is within walking distance for west Fresnans, not a small matter since many of them don’t own transportation.
But two different factors led county officials to decide to relocate much of the west Fresno staff into new offices in Clovis.
First was a county-commissioned study on how to best consolidate offices, especially those of the Social Services Department, whose staff was spread out across the Fresno region. The report found it was better for staff and the public alike to have services in one place. Before consolidation, people needing help often had to make two or three trips to different county office locations.
Then the COVID pandemic broke out last year. The west Fresno center was shut down along with most other county buildings.
Pacheco was assured by administrators that the center reopened at 50% capacity this past April and normal capacity in June.
But earlier this month some residents told Fresnoland/Fresno Bee staff writers Dympna Ugwu-Oju and Danielle Bergstrom that they needed to go to Clovis now for services. Consolidation, at least for west Fresnans, meant making a trip.
“It’s like we are left out. Low-income is left out, especially the community over here,” James Williams III, 39, told the Fresnoland reporters. Williams receives SNAP food assistance and Medi-Cal from the Department of Social Services. “It’s a bad inconvenience for us. This is not right. We pay our taxes. We’re still good citizens.”
Sarah Nelson, a 40-year-old mother of two with four stepchildren, is a CalWorks recipient. She told the reporters that getting six children on a bus for a 75-minute ride to Clovis is daunting.
“They always want to take from the west side of Fresno because they know that’s where most of the minorities are,” Nelson said. “I don’t think that’s fair. How much more can you take?”
Back to the center
Jean Rousseau, the county administrative officer, met with members of The Bee’s Editorial Board Thursday and said job specialist and eligibility workers will be at the center full-time every business day.
He admitted the focus of consolidating was details about logistics of moving county staff into new offices. Left out of that process was adequate communication with the residents of west Fresno about the coming changes.
“We did not do the outreach as we should have,” Rousseau said. “Our intention was never, never, never to close the west Fresno” regional center.
Besides actual staff working at the center, the county has installed kiosks that allow a user to fill out online forms and submit them. There is also a direct phone line at the west Fresno center to county staff at the Clovis offices who can help with inquiries.
Rousseau takes The Bee’s reporting to task in a Valley Voice essay. That is certainly his prerogative; The Bee stands by its reporting and believes the story properly framed the issues involved.
It is gratifying that the Fresnoland coverage helped move the county back into the place where it belongs, namely, serving the residents of west Fresno right where they live. It needs to stay that way. Human services need to be where the humans are.
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.