Welcome to the CASRA Newsletter

In this issue:

-Forced addiction treatment doesn't work

-Use of biomarkers could open a window into mental health

-Why mindfulness doesn't work for some

-Nobody taught them to be adults - so they are teaching each other

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.

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

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

The Science Is Clear: Forced Addiction Treatment Fails Homeless People

From invisiblepeople.tv
By Cynthia Griffith, May 26, 2026

Mounting evidence from researchers, public health experts, and former law enforcement shows that punitive, coercive approaches to homeless addiction not only fail to reduce drug use but also increase overdose deaths, worsen housing instability, and cost taxpayers more than proven alternatives.

Experts and Former Law Enforcement Say Punitive Addiction Policies Cost More, Save Fewer Lives, and Ignore What Works

Experts at the Drug Policy Alliance say that “forced treatment is ineffective, increases overdose risk, and often happens in a prison-like setting that fails to provide evidence-based care, making recovery more difficult.”

So then why, as the Trump Administration purports to be fervently working toward solving America’s opioid crisis, are lawmakers forcing punitive and coercive treatments for unhoused people with addiction disorder? Shouldn’t we be spending our hard-earned tax dollars on solutions that are proven to work? Read More

Psychiatrists’ Use of Biomarkers Could Open Window Into Mental Health

From kffhealthnews.org
By Jamie Ducharme, March 17, 2026

Amanda Miller was 30 and pregnant with her second child in Hershey, Pennsylvania, when she developed depression. After she gave birth, her depression worsened. It was joined by a slew of unexplained health problems.

Miller, a neuroscientist, said she saw several psychiatrists and got prescriptions for drug after drug. Over two years, she tried four antidepressants and two antipsychotics. None of that helped - until her primary care doctor noticed high levels of an autoimmune marker in her blood.

A specialist then ran “every test in the book,” Miller said. Eventually, she was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease lupus and prescribed an inflammation-lowering steroid. Some of her symptoms let up within hours. Her depression subsided not long after. “I was convinced it was a placebo effect,” Miller said, “but then it kept working.” Read More

Why Mindfulness Doesn’t Work for Some People – And What To Try Instead

Optimism Trumps Beats Mindfulness When Things Get Tough, Says the Science

From sciencefocus.com
By Ian Taylor, June 3, 2026 at 9:30 am

In the last decade or so, mindfulness has been one of the revelations in the science of wellness. Researchers have shown that meditative practice can lower stress, reduce blood pressure, improve sleep and promote good mood.

But there's a but, because in science there's almost always a but.

Mindfulness doesn't work for everyone and for some people, it can lead to adverse effects, such as increased anxiety or depression. Which makes sense.

Being present in the moment feels good when the moment in question is generally positive, or neutral. But if you happen to be going through a bad time, mindfulness can serve to increase awareness of your own emotions and exacerbate the psychological problems that come with them. Read More

Nobody Taught Them to Adult — So They’re Teaching Each Other

Every Year in India, Thousands of Teens Age Out of State-Run Childcare. Now, the Ones Who Have Left Are Helping Their Younger Peers Grow Up.

From reasonstobecheerful.world
By Geetanjali Krishna, June 1, 2026

Across the world, 18th birthdays are a time for celebration. But in India, an estimated 30,000 teens reach this threshold in childcare institutions (places that offer shelter and protection to vulnerable youth) every year, and age out of care to become “nobody’s responsibility,” as one person who works to support such teens put it.

Girish Mehta and Anisha Sharma have faced this firsthand. “I had barely a month to figure out my life after I had to move out at 18,” says Mehta, who had lived in a childcare institution (CCIs) in Jaipur since he was 12. Sharma grew up in a Delhi home for children living with HIV and AIDS. When she turned 18, she says she was “mid-course, mid-dream, and on my own. I wasn’t mature enough to cope.”

Under the national Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, care leavers like Mehta and Sharma are legally entitled to “aftercare” support until the age of 21 — or, in some cases, 23. But in practice, a majority of India’s care leavers receive little or no support when they step into adulthood. “Without guidance and support, many risk once again falling through the cracks,” Veena Lal, who founded Karm Marg, a home for children at risk on the outskirts of Delhi, says. 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.

Project Return Peer Support Network (PRPSN) Provides certified WRAP training

CASRA member agency Project Return Peer Support Network (PRPSN) is now a licensed Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP). PRPSN's Training Institute is now a leading provider of WRAP Seminars across the West Coast, helping individuals and organizations build wellness tools that foster hope, personal responsibility, and empowerment.

 For more information or to schedule a WRAP Seminar, please contact PRPSN's Training Coordinator, Gustavo Limas at glimas@prpsn.org.

Learn More

Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.
Immanuel Kant
Philosopher

The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.
Isaac Asimov
American Writer and Professor