Join UIC's Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy and co-sponsors for a timely conversation about the work ahead to support mental health wellness and people experiencing a mental health crisis. Chicago has established a Mental Health System Working Group to provide a plan to the Mayor by May 31, 2024 for how to reopen public mental health clinics that have been closed for over a decade as well as have healthcare and social workers, rather than police, respond to mental health emergencies. This panel will discuss Chicago's long history of organizing for public mental health services, the Treatment Not Trauma campaign, the importance of this for Black and Latinx communities, and how to ensure that mental health services are attentive to the needs of people with disabilities.

Panelists Include:
Arturo Carrillo, Deputy Director of Health & Violence Prevention, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council

Cheryl Miller, Public-Health Organizer, Southside Together Organizing for Power  

Jessica Gimeno, Mental Health Policy Analyst, Access Living

Rossana Rodríguez-Sanchez, Chicago Alderwoman for the 33rd Ward

Kathryn Bocanegra, Assistant Professor, UlC Jane Addams School of Social Work

(moderator) Brenikki Floyd, Associate Dean for Community Engagement, UIC School of Public Health