Behavioral Health

In July 2024, the County broke ground on a new Crisis Stabilization Unit in El Cajon. The unit is the first in East County and is on track to open in early 2026.

In January 2025, the County opened a new one-stop Community Resource Center in Ramona where residents can access County resources like mental health services, nutrition, healthcare and financial assistance all in one place. The $15 million facility was planned and built with input from the community and replaced a building that had been in operation since 1988. The center is expected to see around 6,000 visits in the next year and provide new services for seniors and veterans. Nearly 9,000 Ramona residents are now receiving County services.

In May, the County’s Behavioral Health Services department was awarded $29.1 million in state funds to create new mental health and substance use treatment services. The money will be used for two main projects, one that will create a new substance use treatment center with 73 new substance use treatment beds and 16 recuperative care beds on County-owned property in National City, scheduled to open in 2026. The second will help pay for a first-of-its-kind Children’s Crisis Residential Care Facility with 16 residential care beds in the County’s Polinsky Children’s Center in Kearny Mesa.

Environmental Sustainability

In September 2024 the Board adopted the County’s 2024 Climate Action Plan, the blueprint for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the unincorporated areas and at County facilities, with the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2045. The plan includes 70 actions designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In August 2025, the new San Diego County Public Health Laboratory that was opened in May was recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council as having achieved the highest “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” — LEED — certification possible. The council runs the LEED certification program and calls it the most widely recognized green building rating system in the world. The new lab was the 34th County facility to earn the rating. 

Equity

The County extended the Rural Health Discharge Program that it started in 2023 with CAL FIRE, Grossmont Healthcare District and Sharp Grossmont Hospital to serve isolated patients in their homes when they were discharged from the hospital. The program paired a San Diego County Fire/CAL FIRE Paramedic Captain with a County public health nurse to provide follow up care for patients at home when they’re discharged. The goal is to keep people healthy and prevent them from having to be re-admitted to the hospital. Due to the success of the program, Sharp Grossmont Hospital now employs its own nurse who partners with the paramedic to make home visits.

The County continues to work to close the “Digital Divide” in unincorporated communities — places where some people may still not enjoy universal access to high-speed internet. This past year the County made $9 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding available to bring high speed internet service to people in hundreds of households in unincorporated communities, including Ramona. 

And it awarded $600,000 to bring high-speed internet services to students in three school districts, including to K-8 students at San Pasqual Union School District. 

County Animal Services unveiled its rolling veterinary clinic — the Pet Health Express — in May 2025. The wheeled clinic enables the County to deliver affordable pet health service, such as spaying and neutering, dental work, other outpatient care and basic pet wellness to communities that need it most. 

Healthy and Safe Communities

In October 2024, the County broke ground on a new animal shelter in Santee. The shelter will house animals looking for homes and give people looking for pets in south and southeast county a happy place to find them. It will also include a small-animal hospital and eventually serve as a fire evacuation site that can take in and care for animals during disasters. 

In May 2025, the County cut the ribbon on its new, state-of-the-art County Public Health Laboratory. The two-story, 52,000-square-foot laboratory at the County Operations Center in Kearny Mesa is three times larger than the cramped and outdated old lab. The new lab creates space for nearly 90 employees and contractors who can test for infectious diseases like COVID-19; Respiratory Syncytial Virus, known as RSV; influenza and other diseases. 

The County also opened a much-anticipated outdoor archery range at Kumeyaay Valley Park in Lakeside in May. The park became the first archery range in East County and gives beginner and competitive-level archers in East County a convenient place to gather and hone their skills. 

Homelessness and Affordable Housing

In August 2024, the  County unveiled a new “Affordable Housing” mapping tool to give people a place to look at, and for, affordable housing developments built with the help of County funds around the region. The interactive map shows where developments are, photos of them, information about how many units there are, what types there are and who can apply to live in them. The website also has links to each development’s website. 

In November 2024, the  County made $11.5 million available to local developers to create affordable housing to help people with low incomes and veterans experiencing homelessness. 

Public Safety and Justice Reform

In August 2024, San Diego County Fire/CAL FIRE started “hardening” homes and the areas around them to protect against wildfires in the Dulzura area. The work was done as part of the California Wildfire Mitigation Program. The program creates fire-defensible space by removing trees and brush right next to homes. It also retrofits homes with ignition-resistant materials, such as metal rather than nylon screens, and fire- and ember-resistant vents for roofs, attics and raised foundations to keep embers from getting under or into houses. 

County Probation held its second East County Community Resource Fair in April 2025 to help probationers and parolees successfully reenter and rejoin their neighborhoods and communities. The free event featured roughly 90 organizations and was designed to provide the help those people were looking for in one spot. From support to finding housing and jobs, to healthcare, food, access to CalFresh, clothing, documents, mental health support and substance use disorder services — even free showers and haircuts.