mental health

"Now, armed with her new diagnosis, Norma could understand the source of her anxieties. The constant sense of foreboding, the extreme fear of speaking in class, the guardedness around her white colleagues — these were classic examples of PTSD-associated hypervigilance.

[...] Her work has become more rewarding too. She left her old job at the Texas state capitol at the end of 2016, knowing that the Republican-dominated legislature planned to pass a statewide immigration crackdown that mirrored Trump’s agenda. She now works in mental health and criminal justice advocacy with Austin-based Grassroots Leadership." Read more about What Happened to Norma's Brain?

"Latasha Taylor, a member of that cohort and a mental health organizer at Grassroots Leadership, talked with Into the Fold about empowering members of marginalized communities to seek out and create—through activism, advocacy and good communication—alternatives for mental health wellness and recovery that operate outside clinical settings.

Taylor aims to energize and mobilize people who, like herself, feel disempowered by inadequate mental health services. Achieving system-wide equity and efficacy, she believes, requires building a 'place and space' of community wellness beyond diagnosis and treatment." Read more about Activism for Mental Health

"Cate Graziani, a researcher with Grassroots Leadership who tracks the private prison industry’s movement into treatment and civil commitment programs, says the Littlefield contract felt like a 'consolation prize' after Correct Care failed for several years to privatize another state hospital.

'We had just told the state all about this company’s track record of serious problems, and then we turn around and they’re putting people in Littlefield months later,' she said." Read more about A Prison By Any Other Name

"Bob Libal, executive director of the immigrants’ rights group Grassroots Leadership, said the constant fear of being deported can have an effect on peoples’ mental health. The Austin Police Department has had a verbal policy that officers will ask about a person's immigration status only if it's pertinent to the case – for example, in a case of human trafficking. Monday’s ruling didn't change the department's procedures very much. Officers will now track when and why they ask about immigration status. Libal said the fear of interacting with anyone who resembles law enforcement can also compromise physical health. 'During the immigration raids here in February,' he says, 'we saw things like declines in attendance at school, declines in people accepting rides in ambulances.' Read more about Immigrants' Rights Groups Confront Fear And Confusion After Latest 'Sanctuary Cities' Ruling"

All too frequently, we have seen what happens when public institutions, from state agencies to public schools, lack independent, external oversight. They fail to achieve the efficiency that comes from increased transparency, and often identify abuses far too late. Texas has implemented external oversight for the state's juvenile correctional system, but TDCJ continues to operate the largest prison system of any state without independent oversight.

Texas must acknowledge its duty to protect the rights and well being of those under the supervision of its state agencies. Implementing external oversight of the adult corrections system will help policymakers and agency staff create safe environments for those who live and work in prisons and state jails, with benefits to units, Texas communities and families. Read more about Graziani, Smith: Better state jail oversight can curb suicides