HomeMy WebLinkAboutJoanne Genis_City of San Bernardino city council meeting 10 7 2026_RedactedOctober 7, 2026-City of San Bernardino City Council meeting
Subject: Homeless Drop-Off Ordinance MC-1671
Good evening, Mayor and Council Members,
My name is Joanne Genis and I’m a resident of Chino Hills. You may be wondering why a resident from a different city is
addressing you tonight regarding the Homeless Drop-Off Ordinance.
First, I want to commend your city for taking action on this issue. The City of Riverside implemented its Homeless Drop-
Off Ordinance a couple of months ago, and the City of Hemet implemented a similar ordinance in 2024. I’m hopeful that
what you are doing here will encourage other cities and counties to take similar action.
Here’s why this issue is so important to me.
My son, Cody Genis, was homeless for three years. During that time, he struggled with drug addiction, severe mental
illness, ADHD, and Asperger’s syndrome. For three years, I fought tirelessly to get him off the streets and into the
treatment and services he desperately needed.
I even advocated for Proposition 36, hoping there might be a way to get him into the treatment-mandated portion of the
program. It may not have been the right solution for him, but at least it could have provided an opportunity to get him
off the streets and into treatment.
Eventually, after reaching out and filing a petition with the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health,
Cody was accepted into the County’s Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT-Laura’s Law) program, and a court case was
initiated. The judge ordered an AOT evaluation at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, or ARMC.
A sheriff’s deputy and two DBH representatives detained Cody and transported him to ARMC. After three days, he was
discharged.
His records indicated that he was gravely disabled and experiencing significant mental health issues. Yet no one was
notified of his discharge—not his family, not DBH, and, most importantly, not the judge who had ordered the evaluation.
The judge was very upset with the discharge process and told us that the evaluation she received was incomplete. ARMC
was ordered to appear in court to answer questions about what had happened. Instead, DBH counsel presented the
judge with a template outlining nine changes to how future court-ordered AOT evaluations would be handled between
ARMC and DBH. Sadly, those changes came too late for my son.
When Cody was discharged, he was given a bus pass to travel approximately 31 miles back to his encampment and a
piece of paper telling him to contact a counseling center. He had no phone, no money, and no support waiting for him. In
other words, he was discharged—or, as I have described it, dropped off—in an unfamiliar city without anyone being
notified.
Seven days later on October 4, 2025, Cody was killed by a hit-and-run driver while crossing the street. The driver was
located and was an EMT.
I often think about whether things could have been different if there had been a system requiring agencies and facilities
to communicate before transporting or discharging someone experiencing homelessness into another community.
If a Homeless Drop-Off Ordinance like this had been in place in our county—or even statewide—maybe there could have
been a different outcome for Cody.
I understand that this ordinance will not solve all of our homelessness problems. But I believe it is a step in the right
direction.
I have shared Cody’s story at several San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and DBH Commission meetings and at
city council meetings in several different cities, because I hope this idea will go wide and far.
I commend you for taking this step, and I hope other cities—and eventually our county and state—will consider doing
the same.
Thank you for listening.
Joanne Genis
Chino Hills, CA