Mental Health

CalMatters and CatchLight are partnering on a three-year initiative to tell powerful stories about mental health in California. We’ll spotlight solutions, personal stories, investigate systems, and bring greater awareness to this historically stigmatized topic. This initiative is supported by:

Enlight Foundation
California Health Care Foundation
Flourish Impact Fund
Lisa Stone Pritzker Family Foundation
Resonance Philanthropies
Sarlo Family Foundation
Sand Hill Foundation
Stuart Foundation

A guard tower at Kern Valley State Prison on Nov. 15, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Justice

Mentally ill prisoners in California are three times likelier to get shuffled around

Newly acquired state data shows that the Corrections Department transferred patients with serious mental illnesses an average of five times over a six-year period, underscoring a CalMatters’ investigation this year that revealed the practice and raised questions about the harm it could cause.

By Byrhonda Lyons, Jocelyn Wiener and Erica Yee • November 21, 2022

Commentary

Strong alliances could put a dent in the meth epidemic

Jail should not punish people just for using drugs; lengthy incarceration won’t help. Rather, we must use the criminal justice system strategically to promote behavioral change in people whose drug use threatens public safety.

By Guest Commentary • September 28, 2022

A tent encampment in West Oakland. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

WhatMatters

Newsom gets his court

Now the hard work begins. So said Gov. Gavin Newsom at a Wednesday bill signing ceremony in San Jose about legislation he says is key to addressing one of California’s most glaring failures: The sheer number of people suffering from untreated mental illness living on our streets. Newsom’s office first rolled out his Community Assistance, […]

By Ben Christopher • September 15, 2022

Health

Unanswered cries: Why California faces a shortage of mental health workers

With demand rising for mental health care, and providers in short supply, experts explain how California got here - and where we may be headed.

By Jocelyn Wiener • September 8, 2022

Lawyers address a judge in Madera County Superior Court in Madera on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2021. Photo by Larry Valenzuela for CalMatters

Housing

California lawmakers approved CARE Court. What comes next?

Now that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s court system for people with severe mental illness cleared the state Legislature, counties face a series of practical questions critical to turning the fuzzy concept into a reality.

By Manuela Tobias and Jocelyn Wiener • September 8, 2022

Commentary

CARE Court plan gets backing from San Diego cities, county

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed creating a Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment Court, a new way to ensure that those who need care can get it and to enable the state to ensure that cities and counties expected to provide mental and behavioral health services are doing so.

By Guest Commentary • August 24, 2022

Commentary

CARE Court plan rightly targets government’s responsibilities on homelessness

The governor’s Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court plan has the potential to transform how we address homelessness in California — by requiring the government to act.

By Guest Commentary • August 19, 2022

Commentary

California needs to come together on homelessness

It is time for government at all levels to step up and create a statewide system to address homelessness.

By Guest Commentary • August 9, 2022

Commentary

California can end social media’s immoral ploys to keep children clicking

If Assembly Bill 2408 becomes law, it will hold accountable the largest social media giants that have played a leading role in the most acute and widespread youth mental health crisis experts have ever seen.

By Guest Commentary • August 8, 2022

Farmworkers and labor advocates march in Fresno, urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign the Ag Labor Voting Choice Act, providing more choices in how farm workers can vote in their union elections, March 31, 2022. Photo by John Walker/The Fresno Bee

WhatMatters

Farmworkers to march, mental health workers to strike

Workers across California are taking to the streets. Today, the United Farm Workers union is set to embark on a 24-day, 335-mile march from Delano to Sacramento to urge Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would permit farmworkers to vote from home in union elections. Farmworkers and their supporters are set to arrive […]

By Emily Hoeven • August 3, 2022