Humboldt County seeks public input on behavioral health plan
Humboldt County asked residents to weigh in on a new behavioral health plan that could steer housing, treatment and crisis care dollars for vulnerable neighbors.
Mental health and addiction dollars in Humboldt County were up for public review as the county asked residents to weigh in on a new Behavioral Health Services Act plan that could steer housing, treatment and crisis care for people at risk of homelessness, incarceration or institutionalization. The draft 2026-2029 Integrated Plan carried a comment window from April 20 through May 28, and the Humboldt County Behavioral Health Board set a public hearing for May 28 at the Professional Building, 507 F St. in Eureka, with a hybrid Zoom option.
The plan was not just a paperwork exercise. California’s Behavioral Health Services Act, which took effect with fiscal year 2026-2029 from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029, requires counties to show how they will use behavioral health funding to reduce disparities and meet unmet needs. County materials say the overhaul grew out of Proposition 63, approved in 2004 and funded by a 1% tax on personal income over $1 million, and Proposition 1, passed in 2024, which renamed the old Mental Health Services Act and added a housing component.
That housing piece matters locally. State guidance says counties must dedicate 30% of their BHSA funding to housing interventions for people with the most significant behavioral health needs who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Proposition 1 also created up to $6.4 billion in bond funding for supportive housing and community-based treatment settings, a shift that could affect how Humboldt funds outreach, stabilization and long-term recovery supports.
Humboldt County said the draft plan reflected a Community Program Planning Process that included community meetings, demographic surveys, key informant interviews, written comment forms, a community survey and email and public-input opportunities. The county also held regional BHSA input meetings in January and February 2026 in Eastern Humboldt, Southern Humboldt in Garberville, the Eel River Valley in Fortuna, Eureka and Northern Humboldt in Blue Lake, a reminder that the county’s behavioral health planning reaches from the South County hills to the North Coast.
The county’s BHSA coordinator listed in the draft was Oliver Gonzalez Bobadilla. The mailing address for comments was 720 Wood Street, Eureka, CA 95501, and residents were able to send feedback to bhsacomments@co.humboldt.ca.us or mail it to DHHS Behavioral Health, Attn: BHSA Comments, 720 Wood St., Eureka, CA 95501. Printed copies of the plan were available by request at 707-441-3770 or 866-320-8911. Humboldt County said the BHSA process also aligned with its Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan work, alongside the Humboldt Housing and Homelessness Coalition and the monthly Behavioral Health Board, which has long helped shape the county’s response to mental illness, substance use and homelessness.
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