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San Ramon Among 19 Cities Awarded Helen Putnam Award for Excellence in Intergovernmental Collaboration
Posted on 09/09/2022
Contra Costa Community Crisis Response Team

The League of California Cities announced yesterday that Contra Costa County and 19 area cities and towns, including the City of San Ramon, received the esteemed 2022 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence in Intergovernmental Collaboration for the development of the A3 Community Crisis Response initiative, which seeks to transform the region’s behavioral health care and emergency response system.

In response to urgent calls from the community for more compassionate and comprehensive behavioral health services, every city and town in Contra Costa County came together in 2020 to re-imagine the way behavioral health services are delivered.

Through an intergovernmental effort with the county, mental health and homeless advocates, and community members, the team worked to develop a new model in which a person in crisis has someone to talk to, someone to respond, and a place to go to receive behavioral health services.

The result of the collaboration is A3 Community Crisis Response—where anyone can get professional help at anytime, anywhere in the county.

Forty-five different organizations, 19 cities and towns, and dozens of community members worked collaboratively to create the A3 (anyone, anywhere, anytime) model.

As 988 becomes a statewide and national suicide and mental health crisis call number, Contra Costa County believes that cities and counties throughout the state can use the Contra Costa A3 model to deliver behavioral health services in a manner that is timely, culturally, and clinically appropriate for anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Click here to learn more about the A3 Initiative

Established in 1982 by the League of California Cities, the Helen Putnam Award for Excellence is given annually and recognizes outstanding achievements by California's 482 cities. The purpose of the Helen Putnam Award for Excellence program is to promote innovative solutions by city governments. The 2022 winners, recognized for their outstanding programs, were chosen from 155 submissions.

Read the full Press Release from the League of California Cities

View the Full List of Helen Putnam Award Winners