From Abandonment to Accountability
California’s mental health crisis is not just a policy failure; it is a humanitarian emergency. A ‘Standard of Neglect’ thrives in a system that excludes families and lacks accountability for outcomes. We are shattering the silence to replace clinical abandonment with a mandated Standard of Care—ensuring that "too sick for treatment" is never again a justification for a death sentence on our streets.
Our #1 Legislative Priority: Closing the CARE Court Gap
Current California law allows the most severely ill to be dismissed from help if they exceed CARE Court support. We call this the Dismissal Void.
SB 1016 creates a mandatory clinical pathway, ensuring that "too sick for court" doesn't mean "abandoned to the streets.
California’s CARE Court is a symptom of a larger humanitarian crisis: a system that excludes families and lacks accountability for outcomes. SB 1016 addresses the dismissal, but our broader mandate addresses the Standard of Neglect at the county level.
ACT NOW: Help Push SB 1016 Through the California State Assembly
The Continuum of Care Act (SB 1016) has successfully cleared the Senate Floor and is now moving through the California State Assembly. It passed the Judiciary Committee and is headed to the Health Committee on June 30. Let’s shatter the legislative gridlock and close the Dismissal Void. Opponents are lobbying hard to protect the status quo of abandonment. Sacramento needs to hear the raw, ground-truth facts from the front lines right now.
🏛️ Step-by-Step Legislative Mandate
Follow these quick steps to ensure your voice is logged directly with state lawmakers today:
Step 1: Find Your Assemblymember Click the finder button below to instantly locate your specific State Assemblymember, their district office phone number, and their official contact portal.
Step 2: Make a 30-Second Call (HIGHEST PRIORITY) Use our quick, pre-written call script to log your proactive support with the Assemblymember's staff immediately.
Step 3: Send a Support Letter (Takes 5 Minutes) Copy our official support letter template, paste it directly into your Assemblymember’s contact portal, and click submit.
📝 Tracking the Tragedies: Submit Your Story as Forensic Evidence
Passionate advocacy is important, but lawmakers make decisions based on undeniable proof. We are collecting and formatting real-world clinical abandonment stories into a unified forensic evidence base that legislators cannot legally ignore.
Your story is the ground-truth evidence needed to push SB 1016 across the finish line. Please select and download the specific Microsoft Word template below that best fits your professional or lived-experience role:
For Family Members & Caregivers: Download this template if you are a parent, relative, or proxy record-keeper who has been locked out by privacy walls, ignored by clinicians, or forced to watch a loved one cycle through the dismissal void alone. [ Download Caregiver Story Template (Word) ]
For Medical Professionals & Clinicians: Download this template if you are a psychiatrist, ER doctor, nurse, or social worker who has witnessed patients routinely discharged into homelessness or carceral settings due to a lack of mandatory clinical pathways. [ Download Medical Professional Template (Word) ]
For First Responders & Law Enforcement: Download this template if you are a CIT officer, paramedic, or mobile crisis responder who has been forced to act as a de facto mental health worker because upstream healthcare systems defaulted to crisis containment. [ Download First Responder Template (Word) ]
How to Submit: Once you have downloaded and completed your role-specific Word document, click the submission button below to email your file directly to our California policy team.
Success in Action: The Marin Model
Marin County has already formally adopted a Board-approved Family Partnership Policy. This model proves that family inclusion is not only possible but practical. We are leveraging the Marin foundation to ensure every county in California recognizes the family’s right to be heard.
Navigating the Trench
California's mental health system is a fragmented maze of 58 different county protocols. The system is a maze, but you don't have to walk it alone. We have organized our toolkit to help you move from clinical abandonment to stabilization and neglect to accountability.
Direct Intervention for Families in Crisis
Access the Crisis Tracker, our Directory for our 58 Counties, family navigation guides and peer support.
Tactical Tools for Systemic Change.
Equip yourself with the forensic evidence needed for advocacy. Access fact sheets on SB 1016, white papers, and Marin Model policy template to bring accountability to your local Board of Supervisors.
Leadership & Community
Join the California 150
We are a coalition of families, peers, and clinicians dedicated to shattering the silence in Sacramento. Sign up for <strong>California-specific</strong> legislative alerts, SB 1016 updates, and tactical briefings on the SMI crisis in our 58 counties.