Mental Health Matters

Latest

Curtis Harris, Chicago, IL

Editor’s Note: The People’s Tribune congratulates Curtis Harris for his staunch human rights’ advocacy and activism. The Alliance for Community Services is awarding Curtis the Alliance Builder Award for his human services advocacy.


On July 24, 2023, advocate Curtis Harris testified before the Chicago Health and Human Relations Committee about the mental health services he needs. This is what he said:

Good morning,

Hi, my name is Curtis Harris, I’m with AYLP (Advanced Your Leadership Power) a cross-disability organization group in the City of Chicago. I stand before you with lived experience of mental illness on the autism spectrum.

I don’t want hospitals to be a significant support in my life. Hospitals make me feel isolated and frustrated. I lose control over my life choices. I have experienced 14 Hospitalizations in 10 years, more than half of them I didn’t need to be there. I experienced hospitalization because better, less controlling, options like the Living Room* weren’t available.

The reason why I support CESSA (Community Emergency Services and Supports Act) is because I would have had less hospitalizations. Whenever I’m in a crisis, overwhelmed with anxiety where I can’t move or make decisions, then I know I need help. My plan of action is to call the Warm Line on Monday through Friday, or Thresholds Crisis Hotline. This isn’t enough support.

Once on a weekend, I had a crisis that escalated to a more acute level because the warm line and the hotline were not open. Without that help, the crisis kept getting worse until I had to go to a hospital. That could have been prevented if I had access to 24-hour care or mobile relief providers.

I support Treatment Not Trauma (TNT)’s proposals because I want CESSA to be implemented in the city of Chicago. I want there to be 24-hour support, and I want the City to reopen the mental health clinics. We need all those services so that I and others like me can lead active lives in the community without the interruption of hospitalizations.

How can we relate CESSA, known as Stephon Watts Law, to Medicare for All or single-payer healthcare? Can we talk about it at this afternoon’s meeting?

*The Living Room model is a community crisis center that offers people experiencing a mental health crisis an alternative to hospitalization (source: SMI Adviser®).

+ Articles by this author

Kathy Powers is a lifetime Chicagoan. At 50, Kathy speaks out as the voice of the people. She became a revolutionary activist whose lifelong fight raises unheard voices. She is the Health Care Desk on the People’s Tribune Editorial Board.

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

Journalist Says Why ‘I Can No Longer Work With Reuters’

A photojournalist says why it is impossible for her to maintain a relationship with Reuters "given its role in justifying and enabling the systematic assassination of 245 journalists in Gaza."

Abrego Garcia Detained Again, Could be Deported to Uganda

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant worker, was freed from detention in Tennessee Aug. 22 and then re-arrested by ICE on Aug. 25 in Maryland. The Trump administration is trying to deport Abrego Garcia to Uganda.

An Open Letter to Mayor Matt Mahan of San Jose, CA.

From the San Jose CA Frontlines: Stop the sweeps. Unhoused people want a safe place to stay. All people should be respected, shown compassion, understanding.

Global Food Authority Declares Catastrophic Famine in Gaza

On Aug. 22, the world's top authority on hunger crises officially declared that a catastrophe-level famine in Gaza exists—a humanitarian disaster engineered by Israel's relentless blockade of food aid and other life-saving supplies.

Thousands of Texans Protest Trump’s Redistricting Plan To Get More Votes

The Texas capitol of Austin saw 5,000 people protesting Trump’s unconstitutional redistricting plan and other issues threatening our democracy.

More from the People's Tribune