Welcome to the CASRA Newsletter

In this issue:

• Registration for the third session of the CASRA Learning Series is now open!
• An interview with Dr. Daniel Fisher
• From the streets to city hall
• Silencing the machines
• Member Agency Update - PRPSN Respite Houses
• CASRA Opens a new Newsletter archive. See below!

Enjoy!

If you have news you would like to share or a colleague you would like to spotlight because of the great work they do or just because they are a great person or both, let us know by contacting joe@casra.org.

A benefit of membership in CASRA is receiving four hours of training for your staff. For more information, please contact joe@casra.org

If you are a CASRA member agency and would like to advertise your learning opportunity, training or event for the benefit of other CASRA member agencies, please contact us at events@casra.org.
There are a few guidelines:
-You are a CASRA Member Agency
-Your event is free of charge
and, as a reminder the Newsletter is published on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month

A Photo Gallery now resides on the EVENTS page of the CASRA website and currently consists of albums of the 2024 Spring and the 2025 Fall CASRA Gatherings. We plan on adding more albums in the future.

If you have photos of your agency's events you would like to share with other CASRA members, contact joe@casra.org.

To view the current albums in the Photo Gallery, CLICK HERE.

CASRA has opened yet another library, this time it contains current and past Newsletters. Maybe you read an article that contained some great informatoin and you can't find it. Now you will able to access and enjoy it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The Newsletter LIbrary is located on the CASRA website, under the About Us tab. Or you can directly access it by CLICKING HERE.
If you would like assistance finding an edition or article that is not on the website, you can contact the librarian, Joe Ruiz at joe@casra.org

The  CASRA Learning Library and its contents are free to CASRA member organizations and their staff. The Library is located in the Member Portal on the CASRA website here. More detailed instructions on how to access and use the Library can also be found on the CASRA website when logged on the Portal.

Our hope is that the Library's offerings will provide learning opportunities that will serve as part of CASRA agencies' onboarding processes for new staff, as well as be a resource of Recovery oriented values and practices for all staff. 

Access to the Learning Library is currently limited to CASRA member agencies and their staff. We hope to expand availability in the future.

For questions and more information contact Joe Ruiz - joe@casra.org.

Our member agencies are continually looking for new employees or volunteers to join their workforce.

To see current openings and find out additional information about CASRA Member Agencies, please click below.

CASRA facilitates a number of support groups for people working at CASRA member agencies. The support groups provide people working in similar roles opportunities to share experiences, information, and challenges. They meet monthly for approximantely one hour. for more information contact the person listed for each group.

Social Rehabilitation Facilities (SRF)
Meets: First Tuesday of the month at 1 PM

Human Resources
Meets: First Thursday of the month at 11 AM

Employment/Vocational Rehabilitation Services
Meets: First Thursday of the month at 3 PM

For information regarding any of the above groups contact:
Chad Costello, chad@casra.org

CASRA is a statewide organization of private, not-for-profit, public benefit corporations that serve clients of the California public mental health system.

Member agencies provide a variety of services that are designed to enhance the quality of life and community participation of youth, adults and older adults living with challenging mental health issues. Read more

The California Association of Social Rehabilitation Agencies

Mailing Address:
3350 E. 7th Street, #509
Long Beach, CA 90804

Email: casra@casra.org

Phone: (562) 343-2621

To reach us: use our Contact Form

Registration is Open!

Wednesday, December 2, 2026
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (PDT)

Welcoming: The Great Equalizer

For More Information and to Register
CLICK HERE

Overcoming Schizophrenia and Transforming Psychiatry: An Interview with Dr. Daniel Fisher

From Mad in America
By Alan Robinson, October 28, 2026

Dr. Daniel Fisher is an international pioneer in the mental health recovery movement who helped transform psychiatric care by demonstrating that full recovery from severe mental health conditions is possible. After personally overcoming a diagnosis of schizophrenia, he earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School to reform the mental health system from within as a psychiatrist. A former member of the White House Commission on Mental Health and co-developer of Emotional CPR (eCPR), Dr. Fisher’s work has shifted international policy toward human connection and peer-led empowerment rather than forced treatment and lifelong institutionalization. He is also the author of Heartbeats of Hope: The Empowerment Way to Recover Your Life, which is being translated into Spanish. Read More

He Overcame Addiction and Homelessness. Now He’ll Confront the S.F. Drug Crisis From City Hall

From SF Chronicle
By Alyce McFadden, November 4, 2026

Gary McCoy knows what it means to stare down death while struggling with drug addiction in San Francisco.

In 2011, McCoy was abusing meth and couch surfing with a drug dealer friend after a painful break up. He had been homeless and accumulated a rap sheet that included a larceny conviction in Virginia and possession charges in San Francisco.

At 28 years old, he was HIV-positive, 110 pounds and, he would later learn, had developed Kaposi sarcoma lesions inside of his mouth, esophagus and lungs.

After his drug dealer friend urged him to seek help, he agreed to check into rehab. Eventually, he started attending 12-step meetings and never stopped. On Tuesday, more than 15 years later, McCoy won election to San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors in District 8. Read More

The Hospital That Silenced the Machines

One British Hospital Turned Noise Into Digital Data, Giving Patients Back Their Rest and Nurses Their Focus

From Reason to be Cheerful
By Manuela Callari, October 5, 2026

Beep. Beep. Beep.
The heartbeat monitor chirps.
Hospitals have long tried to fight acoustic chaos with passive tactics — hanging sound-absorbing ceiling tiles, laying soft rubber flooring or begging clinical staff to whisper in the corridors.

Beep. Beep. Beep.
Blood pressure drops.

But the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust in the United Kingdom has been trying something different. Instead of regarding noise as an inevitable physical nuisance that needs to be muffled, it treats sound as data that can be routed. Read More

Project Return Peer Support Network Peer Respite Services

Project Return Peer Support Network, a CASRA member agency offers two peer-run respite houses, one located in Long Beach and the other in South Central Los Angeles. The respite programs provide a welcoming, home-like environment for individuals who may benefit from additional support during challenging times.

At the houses, guests are greeted with compassion, understanding, and respect. Trained Peer Support Specialists use their own lived experience with recovery to foster hope, connection, and a sense of belonging. The belief is that healing happens through meaningful relationships, shared understanding, and the opportunity to be heard without judgment.

The respite services are voluntary, recovery-focused, and designed to support wellness, resilience, and self-determination. Guests can access a supportive community, develop coping strategies, explore wellness goals, and connect with resources that promote long-term recovery and well-being. More Info

If you or someone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, there are resources available to provide free and confidential support. Call 988 or the The Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 for LGBTQ young people.

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.

Eleanor Roosevelt