West Fresno advocate calls out county, says residents had to fight to keep services

First, let me express my gratitude to The Fresno Bee and other news media for shining light on the concerns of west Fresno residents. Placing our situation front and center in many circles has led to discussions, which may eventually bring lasting changes for more than 40,000 people.

I have been part of the Golden Westside Planning Committee for 15 years. It is a commitment that I take seriously, even at the cost of being personally maligned. I have learned over the years that my action as well as inaction are consequential and may be the difference between our community getting the resources it needs or not. I do not have the luxury of feigning indifference while my neighbors’ lives are turned upside down.

The recent incident, concerning the reduction of services at the West Fresno Regional Center, is an illustration of the neglect and mistreatment that our community endures on a regular basis. It also provides me a perfect opportunity to respond to the inaccurate and misleading letter by Jean Rousseau, CAO of Fresno County.

First of all, in his essay, “Top Fresno County officer: At no time was the West Fresno Regional Center set to close,” published by The Bee on Sunday, Sept. 24, Rousseau made reference to meeting with three West Fresno residents, but would not accord them the basic respect of using their names and/or the group or organization they are affiliated with. The three individuals are Bob Mitchell, Debbie Darden and Pastor B.T. Lewis, members of the Golden West Side Planning Committee, representing residents of west Fresno, who had brought a concern to our attention.

All three of us are known to Rousseau by name as we introduced ourselves to everyone in the meeting. We were not just three random individuals speaking about their individual concerns; it was understood we were speaking on behalf of the community. Rousseau failed to point out that in the course of that meeting, we also presented him and those representing the Department of Social Services and Fresno County 1,400 petitions signed by individuals who are opposed to changes the county was making at the WFRC.

Rousseau also stated that the three residents (we) were satisfied with the outcome of the July 13 meeting. This couldn’t be further from the truth. It is unimaginable that we would nod in agreement and cheer county representatives’ refusal to commit to continuing services at the WFRC which our community desperately needs. If they mistook our silence as an endorsement of their position, that is unfortunate. In our numerous meetings and phone conversations with Supervisor Brian Pacheco, Rousseau and county COO Paul Nerland, our position never changed, and our statements on behalf of the west Fresno community remained consistent.

Our message to the county remains the same: Any changes that undermine the original intent of the WFRC — a one-stop shop for all DSS services — would impose immense hardship on our community. These vulnerable individuals would have to travel to Clovis, using public transit that is not regular, and that the so-called technology upgrades will not work because of the digital divide and because west Fresno has the poorest Wi-Fi reception in the city, not to think of the elderly and others with limited computer skills.

The bottom line is this: West Fresno continues to have the highest poverty, unemployment, low academic achievement rates in the area; our residents are dealing with all the hardships associated with poverty. Why must we pile on more hardship on top of the load we already carry?

We are encouraged by Rousseau’s admission of mishandling the issue in The Bee’s editorial, “West Fresnans right to raise a stink to get county services restored to their neighborhood” and this statement: “’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.’” How sweet to our ears!

This is our great hope. We want to remind the county that we will hold you to those words. All we want is that those who make policies consider our special circumstance when they make decisions. Treat us with respect as you would others, engage us, listen to our voices, discuss with us what we really need and want, and treat the west Fresno community as if your family lived there.

I echo Rousseau’s words about the WFRC: “My hope and my intent is to keep it there for many years to come.”