. Cathy Cook served in the United States Air Force from 1979 to 1991. She earned an undergraduate degree from California State University, Sacramento in 1979. Cook's career experience includes working as an airline pilot. She has served as president with the Mission Oaks Neighborhood Association, and as a member with the Women Veterans Alliance and the Order of Daedalians.
Homelessness in Sacramento has increased by 67% since 2019. It is affecting the quality of life and safety in our communities. We have to re-evaluate the policies to reduce homelessness that obviously are not working, despite the millions of taxpayers dollars we have devoted to the problem. It is not humane as a society to leave thousands of Californians to struggle and die on the streets. We need a new approach that addresses the root causes of the problem: drug and alcohol addiction, mental illness and criminal activity.
As your Assemblywoman, I support:
Treat people compassionately by providing them with the services that they need to help them on the road to recovery. Safe, secure campsites that provide shelter, sanitary showers, bathrooms, cafeterias, counseling and social services to help them get back on their feet.
Reform the way we treat those suffering from mental health and substance abuse to make it easier for families, social workers, and law enforcement to act on behalf of a person who simply can’t act on their own accord.
Return to the successful drug courts model which provided the ability of judges to require those suffering from addiction to receive treatment.