County Social Services Division Manager Jessica Strong addresses local Kiwanis Club members. Photo by Morris Pongratz

BY MORRIS PONGRATZ
Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos

Jessica Strong recently spoke to the noontime meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos, Ms. Strong is the Manager of the Los Alamos County Social Services Division. The Social Services Division is part of the Community Services Department of Los Alamos County government. In her role Jessica oversees a staff of five and helps with programs that benefit the health and well-being of community members facing problems with their housing, physical and behavioral healthcare, state and federal benefits, and/or food insecurity. She has been in this role for almost two years.

Jessica began by telling about the man who came to social services needing help paying for rent on his storage locker. It turned out that he had his household goods in the storage locker because he was evicted from his home. He was evicted because he had not paid rent. He had not paid rent because he lost his job. He lost his job because his car broke down and he could not get to work. This is not atypical of the cascade of events befalling folks living on the edge. Jessica would like social services to be the “first door” the needy knock on to get help. The Social Services Division has active contracts with 33 community providers that provide the “next door” safety net services to help everyone from young children and families to older adults.

The contracts include six facilities (two Senior Centers, the Teen Center, Las Clinicas del Norte, and two Youth Activity Centers). Other providers include JJAB, Family Strengths Network, LA Cares, and Las Cumbres Community Services. The division provides case coordination with community providers and crisis services: housing services; accessing physical and behavioral healthcare; food stability; victim’s assistant. Jessica also provides staff support to the County Health Council, which has the task of addressing comprehensive health needs.

Social Services is also addressing gaps and trends such as opioid overdose and harm reduction and homelessness outreach. The former involves coordination needed among partners (Los Alamos Police Department, Courts, and Los Alamos Public Schools), managing the Opioid Settlement funds ranging from prevention to post-treatment support to grief needs. They also provide Narcan distribution and community-wide trainings on using it. Jessica secured a grant to address homelessness. Her office identified by name some 50 homeless folks in Los Alamos.

At the end of her talk former County Councilor Rick Reiss, considering all that was on their plate, expressed amazement that Social Services was a division and not a larger county department.