Welcome to the CASRA Newsletter

In this issue:

-Register Now for the 2025 CASRA Fall Gathering! Registration Closes tomorrow.

-Sober living and the path to recovery

-Institutionalizing Homeless executive order and data

-Making women in shelters look and feel good

-CrisisCon is coming September 28th

-Temple University Collaborative Community Chat on September 11th

-The CASRA Learning Library is now open!

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.

We are excited to announce that the CASRA Learning Library is now operational!

The 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.

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

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

REGISTER NOW!

REGISTRATION CLOSES TOMORROW, SEPTEMBER 5TH

For More Information and to Register, CLICK HERE

‘We Can Walk the Journey With Them’: Another Way to Help Troubled Chicagoans in Crisis

A Chicago Mental Health Provider Is Offering an Alternative To Police Response by Sending Peer Specialists to Mental Health Crises

From mindsitenews.org
By Emma Sullivan, August 29, 2025

For Manuel Meza, the vice president of clinical operations at a mental health service provider named Thresholds, the need to link crisis response with long-term care is essential.

It’s also part of what makes two programs operated by Thresholds important parts of Chicago’s mental healthcare ecosystem. The Thresholds team responds to crises by offering de-escalation, stabilization and follow-up care.

Thresholds, a nonprofit organization, carries out this work through two programs: Its mobile crisis response team sends peers to assist people in crisis where they are. In addition, its Living Room program is a peer-led respite center where people can weather a mental health crisis supported by peers who have lived experience with the mental health system. Read More

Sober Living: Why Less Clinical Sometimes Means More Recovery

From madinamerica.com
By Tom Fay, August 21, 2025

Igot sober in 2010, but my education in addiction recovery started long before that.

For the better part of my teens and twenties, I was in and out of treatment—twenty-two centers in different states. Different philosophies. Different budgets. Different levels of professionalism. Some looked like high-end retreats with catered meals, beach trips, yoga instructors, and meditation gardens. Others were bare-bones white cinderblock detox units where getting an extra blanket felt like special treatment.

Somewhere around my third or fourth detox completion, I tried to end my life. I didn’t know how to live without drugs, and I didn’t know how to face what I had become—even after taking all the “right” steps in treatment. I woke up confused in a hospital in Wilmington, DE, after reconstructive surgery on my artery and nerves, and a blood transfusion. The shame I’d been carrying before I woke up now had a multiplier on it. This wasn’t a failure of the clinicians or the system. It was me—without the tools to carry life outside of a facility. Read More

Executive Order To Institutionalize Homeless People Defies Data

From latimes.com
By Fredrick E. Vars Guest contributor, August 12, 2025

President Trump’s campaign against homeless people is not limited to the District of Columbia. On July 24, Trump issued an executive order titled “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.” How exactly is that to be accomplished? “Shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment.” The order describes this approach as “new,” “compassionate” and “evidence-based.” It is none of these things.

The institutionalization of people with mental illness has a long and sordid history in this country. In 1970, there were nearly 370,000 people in state and county psychiatric hospitals. Conditions were atrocious. Consider Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Bryce housed approximately 5,000 people with only three psychiatrists on staff. Some have said that Bryce at that time resembled a warehouse more than a hospital. One journalist described it as a “hellhole,” with human feces on the walls and urine soaking the floors. Photos show patients strapped to rocking chairs. Read More

‘If You Look Good, You Feel Good’: Why This Detroiter Takes Her Salon to Homeless Shelters

From freep.com
By Nushrat Rahman, August 18, 2025

On a Tuesday afternoon in early June, with tools and products at the ready, Niesha Lee primped and pampered women at her makeshift salon in the basement of a family shelter on Detroit’s west side.

She carefully combed and straightened their hair. She curled the ends and arched eyebrows and applied wispy lashes as a finishing touch.

Lee offered these services through Inspiring Hair LLC, her mobile salon that provides free hairstyles, makeup and grooming at Detroit homeless shelters to prepare residents for job interviews, court dates or to just help them feel good about themselves. Read More

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 Teen Line at 1-800-TLC-TEEN or The Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 for LGBTQ young people.

The Time To Rethink Crisis Care Is Now

Join crisis leaders at The National Crisis Continuum Conference, CrisisCon25, for 2½ days of breakthrough ideas, bold strategies, and connections that matter.

September 28 to October 1, 2025
JW Marriott, Indianapolis

This year’s conference comes at a pivotal moment. Crisis providers, advocates, and partners are navigating unprecedented challenges and opportunities. It has never been more important  to advocate, innovate, and join together to shape a future where every person in crisis receives compassionate and effective care.

Here is what you can expect at CrisisCon25:

● 75+ sessions packed with actionable tools and real-world solutions

● Deep explorations of 988 + 911 integration, mobile crisis models, suicide prevention & aftercare, peer voice in 988, and workforce wellness

● Networking with the nation’s top crisis responders, advocates, and policymakers

Whether you work in call centers, mobile crisis teams, residential programs, or psychiatric urgent care, this is your space to recharge, rethink, and retool.

For more information and to register: CLICK HERE!

For more information and to register, CLICK HERE