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Business owners hopeful as Phoenix meets deadline to clean up ‘The Zone’
The city of Phoenix has met a court-ordered Nov. 4 deadline to remove all tents and makeshift structures from the area around the Human Services Campus known as “The Zone,” and business owners in the area are hopeful.
Attorneys for property owners in ‘the Zone’ ask for firm deadline for clearing out homeless residents
Attorneys for property owners in “the Zone” asked a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to set a firm deadline for the city of Phoenix to clear out the homeless population from the area, while the city asked the judge to allow the Office of Homeless Solutions to proceed at its own pace.
Senate passes bipartisan homelessness mitigation measure
The Senate passed a homelessness mitigation bill today with overwhelming support, much to the happiness of sponsor Sen. Catherine Miranda, D-Laveen, who has made this her main effort.
Farnsworth’s story of homelessness prompts Senate committee chair to pull Kavanagh’s proposal
A Republican state senator from Mesa's personal experience with mental illness and homelessness derailed a bid by another GOP lawmaker, this one a former cop, to make sleeping on a sidewalk a state crime. Sen. David Farnsworth's extended comments about his struggles led the chairman of a Senate committee to pull Republican Fountain Hills Sen. John Kavanagh's proposal from consideration during a he[...]
Tucson cafe doubles as training program for people with mental illness
Located in downtown Tucson, Café 54 serves as an employment training program for people with mental health conditions or developmental disabilities. In Arizona, more than 1 million adults have some sort of mental health condition – but about one-third do not get needed health care, often because of cost.
Valleywise expanding mental health services in Arizona
Our ability to ensure access to quality mental health services is as important as our efforts to provide high quality medical care to all who enter our doors At Valleywise Health, we are dedicated to allocating the resources and attention that mental health deserves.
Mandatory licensing would reduce gun violence
Arizonans cannot afford to wait to act on the epidemic of gun violence in our state. Contact your legislators today and ask them to introduce a firearm licensing bill.
We shouldn’t have to sue to learn prosecutors use slurs
In training materials recently obtained by the ACLU of Arizona, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) refers to the people it prosecutes using the slur “crazy” and paints people with psychiatric disabilities as liars and obstacles to winning a conviction – not as human beings worthy of respect.
Time has come to save mentally ill inmates from solitary confinement
The time has long passed for this relic of Sheriff Arpaio’s regime to be closed down. Sheriff Penzone has shown he is willing to reform the jail to bring it in line with sound correctional practices, and to enhance public safety. The next step on this path is to shutter the SMU.
Seize the moment to get more services for the most seriously mentally ill
Arizona has an historic public health opportunity to use 93 acres of state-owned, deed-restricted land in the heart of Phoenix to create a 21st century psychiatric center of excellence. As always, the devil is in the details.
Dearth of treatment services, ‘outmoded’ approach plague dually diagnosed patients
Treatment services are severely lacking for people who are diagnosed with mental illness and substance use disorders, and what some criticize as an outdated approach throws up obstacles in times of need.
Parents of mentally ill plead for expanded services at Arizona State Hospital
Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law legislation allowing private companies to lease space on the hospital grounds to provide emergency and long-term psychiatric and behavioral health services.
