$2.5 Million Grant Awarded to Open Trauma Recovery Center Satellite Offices in Central California

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 19, 2023
Contact: Heather Jones
publicaffairs@victims.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO—A Trauma Recovery Center (TRC) funded by the California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) will open three new satellite offices in Central California to support crime victims in rural or underserved communities.

With a $2.5 million grant approved Thursday by CalVCB, Amanecer Community Counseling Service (ACCS) of Los Angeles County will establish one satellite office in Stockton and two in Bakersfield.

ACCS will collaborate with three hospitals affiliated with CommonSpirit Health, formerly known as Dignity Health. The satellite offices will be located at:

St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton, San Joaquin County
Mercy Hospital Downtown in Bakersfield, Kern County
Mercy Hospital Southwest in Bakersfield, Kern County

San Joaquin and Kern counties are mostly rural with significant non-English speaking populations, including farm workers and new immigrants, and high rates of poverty, homelessness and crime. The rural populations in these counties are struggling with a lagging economic recovery and chronic shortage of mental health and trauma-focused services, especially in languages other than English.

Amanecer has a long-standing partnership with CommonSpirit Health. Through the existing hospital system, the proposed satellite offices will offer on-site and virtual evidence-based mental health and support services. Amanecer expects to serve 1,800 clients and conduct 35 trainings to local organizations and law enforcement over the 30-month course of the grant.

The grant award to Amanecer is the second of two Regional TRC Pilot Program grants funded by the 2022-23 state budget. The first, approved by CalVCB in November 2022, was aimed at Northern California locations and provided $2.5 million to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office to open satellite offices in Sacramento and Santa Rosa.

Since 2014, CalVCB has awarded grants to TRCs throughout California to provide trauma-informed mental health treatment and case management to underserved crime victims who may not be eligible for victim compensation or may be fearful of reporting a crime to law enforcement. CalVCB currently funds 18 TRCs. For more information, see CalVCB’s TRC webpage.

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The California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) provides reimbursement for crime-related expenses to victims who suffer physical injury or the threat of physical injury as a result of violent crime. CalVCB helps crime victims and their families cover unforeseen expenses such as medical bills, mental health treatment, funeral and burial expenses, income loss and more. CalVCB also administers the Forced or Involuntary Sterilization Compensation Program, which financially compensates survivors of state-sponsored sterilization. To learn more about CalVCB, visit victims.ca.gov.