The California State Library and Pacific Library Partnership are pleased to invite you to the next CalMatters online event on Thursday, April 25 from 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Registration Link: https://forlearningmentalhealth.splashthat.com

Join this online conversation to discuss the question, If California is spending more money on programs and passing new laws to help Californians with mental illness, why are so many people still suffering? CEO Neil Chase and health reporter Jocelyn Weiner will look at Gov. Newsom’s mental health policy changes and how effective they’ve been to help alleviate the state’s efforts to help people with serious mental illness. The event will be recorded and made available for viewing afterwards. 

Please also check out the new companion online resources about critical mental health issues on CalMatters for Learning, a package of materials supported by the California State Library to help library staff, patrons, educators and organizers bring important issues to their communities. April’s package looks into California’s long struggle to help people with serious mental illness. The COVID-19 pandemic, people with mental illness living on the streets, the fentanyl epidemic, and a growing mental health crisis among children and teenagers, has made mental health a top concern for Californians. Referencing “our broken system,” Gov. Gavin Newsom in recent years has made more funding available and rolled out a steady stream of major mental health policy changes including the recently passed Prop 1.