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Bodies of drowning victims pulled from Lake Perris
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M O N D AY, S E P T E M B E R 18- S E P T E M B E R 24, 2023
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Riverside creates department focused on homelessness prevention, reduction
Family of MoVal boy fatally assaulted by bullies to receive $27M
By Staff
By Paul J. Young, City News Service
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he guardians of a 13-year-old boy who suffered at the hands of bullies, culminating in a fatal attack that was videotaped on his middle school campus, reached a $27 million settlement with the Moreno Valley Unified School District stemming from a lawsuit filed over the youth’s death, it was announced Wednesday. “The family will forever be heartbroken by the death of Diego, but they hope this case brings about change in school districts across the country,” plaintiffs’ attorney Dave Ring said. “Schools need to realize that bullying can never be tolerated and that any complaints of bullying and assault must be taken seriously. Diego’s death was preventable if this school had simply prioritized an antibullying policy.” MVUSD officials declined to comment on the payout. Ring and his co-counsel, Neil Gehlawat, said the $27 million due the plaintiffs represents the “largest bullying settlement in the United States.” “This lawsuit has put schools on notice to find ways to effectively deal with bullying and to enact real antibullying policies,” Gehlawat said. “We believe real change will come, and there will be a renewed focus on antiSee Bullies Page 28
A member of Riverside’s homeless outreach team speaks with two people at an encampment. Riverside homeless outreach workers interview an unhoused man. | Photo courtesy of the city of Riverside/YouTube
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he Riverside City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to create a new department to harness the city’s existing resources with a renewed focus on preventing and reducing homelessness. The new Department of Housing and Human Services will include a Housing Authority and Office of Homeless Solutions, which currently report to City Manager Mike Futrell, city officials said in an announcement of the council’s action. Two additional entities — the Neighborhood Engagement Division and the Community Development Block Grant program — that previously were not under Futrell will also be part of DHHS. The new department will consist of six divisions: Housing Authority, Administration, CDBG Management, Human Services, Neighborhood Engagement and Outreach Services. Director Michelle Davis
will lead the new department and report to Futrell, who was appointed city manager earlier this year. Futrell proposed DHHS “to foster increased coordination and greater efficiency in formulating and delivering programs to help people avoid becoming homeless and, when necessary, get off the streets and into shelter and then housing,” officials said. “The issues of housing and homelessness are inextricably linked, so our response must reflect that,” Futrell said in a statement. “This new approach will make us more nimble, more responsive and better equipped to take a more universal approach to fulfilling the promise of the city’s Homelessness Action Plan.” The creation of DHHS comes as the city adds personnel to its team of outreach workers and clinical therapists, who directly help people experiencing home-
lessness, officials said. “Outreach teams will now operate seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.,” according to the city. “This is in conjunction with expanded hours at the city’s Access Center, the starting point to recovery and self-sufficiency for Riverside residents experiencing homelessness, and expansion of the city’s jail in-reach program working with inmates in danger of becoming homeless when released.” The council’s move appropriates an additional $503,945 to the city’s anti-homelessness effort and transfers to DHHS another $10.1 million that is currently in the budget for the existing entities that now comprise DHHS, officials said. When DHHS fully staffed, the additional personnel costs are estimated to be $915,489.63 annually. “I am encouraged by
the ways in which this new department can help us move the needle on the objectives identified in our Homelessness Action Plan,” Mayor Pro Tem Erin Edwards said in a statement. “We have the right plan, and now we have the right structure in place to achieve the goals envisioned in that document.” Officials expected the creation of DHHS to bolster the city’s anti-homelessness efforts through the building of new housing and assisting families remain in their existing residences. DHHS officials also aim to strengthen efforts to make sure families have consistent access to food and other essentials. City officials also noted that the new department’s CDBG program “will ensure a coordinated and more effective approach to providing services to low- and moderate-income families who might be at risk of losing their housing.”
County Board OKs new tele-med service, advances $400K to Idyllwild FD
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By City News Service
he Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a three-year contract with a tele-medicine company to set up virtual medical consultations for patients in Riverside County for whom an ambulance has been called but who are considered low-risk and not in need of emergency care, or who are refusing it. In a 5-0 vote, the board signed off on the agreement between the County Emergency Management Department and Pasadena-based Tele911 Inc. “Riverside County is taking an innovative step to prevent long wait times (in emergency rooms),” Supervisor Chuck Washington said. “This diversion program (is about addressing) long wait times and patient (ambulance) offload delays. This is how government should be tackling programs today, using innovative, best practices.” Under the compact, Tele911 will assist the EMD in establishing a program with protocols for when tele-med visits are appropriate and how they’re managed. The program will rely on a mobile platform developed
See Tele-med Page 27