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

80 Years After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Are We on the Verge of Another Nuclear War?

Gerry Condon, former president of Veterans for Peace, makes the case that we are now closer to nuclear war than ever, and that the U.S. is primarily responsible.

Labor Law Still Offers Pathway to Resist Abusive, Inhumane Immigration Laws

Local unions are taking leadership by negotiating language into their agreements prohibiting ICE from entering workplaces.

Nebraska Farmers Describe Trump’s Impact

Farmers from Neligh, Nebraska speak on Trump’s policy to round up farmworkers, the effect of the tariffs on farmers, and the resistance.

Gazans Demand ‘Agency, Memory and Hope’

The true number of dead and missing in Gaza may be around 500,000. Another 500,000 face starvation. Palestinians say if there is to be peace, it must begin with respect for their voices, their rights and their humanity.

Trump’s Immigration Theater Ignores Whose Land ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Is

The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma joined Florida tribes in protesting "Alligator Alcatraz. The tribe says it insults their ancestral homeland and threatens ecosystem.

More from the People's Tribune