FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2022
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law stands in solidarity with disability rights, civil rights, and peer activists in California and across the nation in opposing the proposed California Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment Court, or CARE Court. The Bazelon Center issues the following statement:
“Peers with lived experiences, especially peers that are Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), are rightfully concerned about California Governor Gavin Newsom’s CARE Court proposal. The CARE Court is not a solution for homelessness or for the failings of our mental health system. It is also dangerous. If enacted, it will perpetuate institutional racism and health disparities and expand government coercion in an unprecedented way.
People with mental health disabilities deserve to live with dignity in the community. Housing and health care are human rights. Elected officials should invest in affordable housing and community-based mental health care that meets the needs of consumers. The CARE Court proposal makes no such investment. It ignores proven approaches to advancing the well-being of people with mental health disabilities and creates additional pathways to police involvement and needless institutionalization and incarceration. "
Although the CARE Court proposal is no longer moving forward in the Assembly (AB 2830), it is advancing in the Senate (SB 1338). It was approved by several Senate committees and on May 9, there will be a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
To learn more about why The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Disability Rights California, and Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund are urging California elected officials to rethink their approaches to providing housing and support for people with mental health disabilities, check out the letter we and approximately 45 organizations signed on to here.
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About the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law: The Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law protects and advances the civil rights people with mental and developmental disabilities – especially Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and other historically marginalized populations. We envision a society where our constituents with mental disabilities live with autonomy, dignity, and opportunity in welcoming communities supported by law, policy, and practices that help them reach their full potential. For more information, visit: bazelon.org
