Welcome to the CASRA Newsletter

In this issue:

How are you???

Deep cuts to homeless housing

New study on "mass treatment for defendents"

Are you happy?

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 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

EmploymentVocational 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

Wellness Services (Well Talk)
The Wellness Services support group is now online. For more info contact Joe Ruiz, joe@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

“How Are You?” the Strangest Question To Ask in a Psychiatric Hospital

From madinamerica.com
By Vikky Leaney, October 2, 2025

Picture this. A lounge on a psychiatric ward with standard leatherette beige sofas and a couple of armchairs for good measure. Half a dozen inpatients sat around chatting, waiting for the creative therapist to come and start the session. Some look outwardly animated, others slump in silence, wrapped in the blanket of their own thoughts. The room is still in that strange way hospital rooms are: a mix of sterility and humanity, resignation and restlessness. In comes said creative therapist, who then asks the most normal, innocuous question that we all utter several times a day: “How are you?”

Most inpatients respond with the standard reply that we have all been taught to give: “Fine, thanks.” To me, this is the strangest question someone can ask in a psychiatric ward. This is an event that actually took place when I was an inpatient, not that long ago. However, I decided not to give the standard answer and replied honestly with some non-standard swear words. It was said in jest, and as a room we all laughed at the absurdity of it all together.

However, this absurdity persisted with me and became the basis of the article you are now reading. There is something about our everyday language that is completely enmeshed with society’s rules of etiquette, which doesn’t quite fit the psychiatric system. It says a lot about the socialization of etiquette and language when individuals who are so mentally unwell that they are an inpatient on a mental health ward still answer the strangest question to ask in a psychiatric hospital with what is equally the strangest answer. Even the choice of words used to describe where we are—“mental health ward” versus “psychiatric ward”—carries its own connotations. Read More

Trump Admin Looks at Deep Cuts to Homeless Housing Program

A New Policy Change Will Significantly Cut Funding Used To Place People Experiencing Homelessness in Permanent Housing.

From politico.com
By Katherine Hapgood, September 29, 2025

The Trump administration is expected to dramatically cut funding for a permanent housing program — a move that could potentially reexpose tens of thousands of people to homelessness.

More than half of the 2026 funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s homelessness program designated for permanent housing projects will be cut and moved to transitional housing assistance with some work or service requirements, according to three HUD employees and a person with inside knowledge of the Continuum of Care program as well as internal HUD documents obtained by POLITICO confirming the cuts. All the people were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The funding cuts could put more than 170,000 people at risk of experiencing homelessness, according to the internal documentation and the people. Read More

California’s Prop. 36 Promised ‘Mass Treatment’ for Defendants. A New Study Shows How It’s Going

From calmatters.org
By Cayla Mihalovich, October 13, 2025

It’s been nearly a year since Californians overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36, a tough-on-crime measure providing what backers called “mass treatment” for those facing certain drug charges. But few defendants have found a clear path to recovery under the law, according to new data released by the state.

Prop. 36 gave prosecutors the ability to charge people convicted of various third-time drug offenses with a so-called treatment-mandated felony, which would give them a choice between behavioral health treatment or up to three years in jail or prison. If they accept, they would enter a guilty or no contest plea and begin treatment. Those who complete treatment have their charges dismissed.

In the first six months since the law took effect, roughly 9,000 people have been charged with a treatment-mandated felony, according to the first-of-its-kind report released this month by the state’s Judicial Council. Nearly 15% — or 1,290 people — elected treatment.  Read More

He’s Spent 5 Years Asking People if They’re Happy. This Is What He Learned.

Atdhe Trepca’s Videos Reach Millions of People — And the Answers Still Manage To Surprise Him.

From washingtonpost.com
By Maggie Penman, October 10, 2025

Five years ago, filmmaker Atdhe Trepca quit his job and drove across the country with a camera, asking strangers if they were happy.

People seemed surprised by his question, but most answered earnestly.

“Ever since I had my kid, I’ve been happy,” one person said. “He makes me happy.”

One man said, “Of course I’m happy.” When asked what makes him happy, he said, “Not much. Everything. Food, lunch. Fresh air. Good weather. Bad weather.”

Another attributed his happiness to eating pickles everyday. 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.

“When life descends into the pit I must become my own candle Willingly burning myself To light up the darkness Around me.”

Alice Walker