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®).
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.
