We’re glad you found us. Whether you are trying to help a loved one, searching for resources, or looking for a way to change California’s mental health system, you are in the right place.
California Shattering Silence brings together families, individuals with lived experience, professionals, and advocates working for a more compassionate and accountable system of care. We’re here to help you find information, connection, and a way forward.
You’ve Found a Community That Understands
How Can We Help?
I NEED HELP OR RESOURCES
Find crisis resources, county services, family guides and support groups
I WANT TO GET INVOLVED
Join our community, volunteer, share your story or attend an event.
I WANT TO TAKE ACTION
Learn about current legislation and simple ways to make your voice heard.
From Crisis to Continuous Care
Too many Californians with serious mental illness and their families encounter a fragmented system only after a crisis has occurred. We advocate for a system that intervenes earlier, includes families as partners, and provides continuous care rather than repeated cycles of hospitalization, homelessness and incarceration.
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.
WHO WE ARE
California Shattering Silence is the California chapter of the National Shattering Silence Coalition, bringing together families, individuals with lived experience, clinicians, and advocates committed to improving care for people with serious mental illness.
Led by an all-volunteer team, we work across California to advance compassionate, continuous care, strengthen the role of families as partners, and turn lived experience into meaningful policy change. Together, we are building a stronger voice for individuals and families—and a mental health system that responds with care before crisis becomes tragedy.