Exposing the Untold History of Psychiatric Atrocities

Over its history, Street Spirit has published a series of in-depth reports on many different kinds of psychiatric abuses that have been carried out in the name of healing, yet often end up damaging and disabling people for life. In light of renewed calls for forced psychiatric detention under the guise of "helping the mentally ill," we are collecting and re-publishing these stories in a new section "Psychiatric Abuses and Human Rights". 

Laura’s Law and the Danger of Forced Detention

How much sweeter “Laura’s Law” sounds than Forced Detention or Treatment! Yet it all sounds an awful lot like the usual government arguments used to justify surveillance, control, invasion of privacy. Who is to say this new law won’t be used to punish and isolate the indigent and the ill?

How a Community Was Scattered to the Wind

At 4:30 a.m., the police came, 30 of them. Armed with assault rifles, they broke down our front gate, tore down the door to our living space and arrested us for lodging. Our home was destroyed, our puppy was taken to the pound and our possessions were scattered to the wind.

Oakland Gives Green Light to Massive Gentrification

The West Oakland Specific Plan will target Opportunity Sites for redevelopment and maximum exploitation by wealthy developers. Low-income people need not apply, and have been abandoned to fend for themselves once this gentrification scheme gains traction. Prologis Inc. and California Capital Investment Group are spearheading this gentrification scheme.

Laura’s Law Passed by S.F. Board of Supervisors

“I really feel that if we move forward without full and adequate funding of our mental health system, this may be leading to a false hope of safety in our neighborhoods,” said Eric Mar. “And I worry that there’s a danger of further stigmatizing people with mental illness.”

The Artistic Vision of Charles Curtis Blackwell

His eyesight was severely damaged in an accident when he was young, yet Blackwell’s love for jazz and the blues shines through in his colorful paintings of musicians. To overcome the obstacle of his near-blindness, he stands extremely close to the canvas, his eyes only inches away from his brush strokes.

The Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2014

According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are 1.2 million homeless students in public schools. HUD’s restrictive definition of homelessness has created a vicious cycle. An estimated 921,176 homeless families and children are left out of the HUD definition and do not receive the help they desperately need.

More U.S. Cities Make It Illegal to Be Homeless

A survey of 187 cities finds a startling rise in laws that criminally punish homeless people for engaging in necessary, life-sustaining activities in public, even when they have no other options. More cities are banning these activities in the entire community, effectively making it illegal to be homeless anywhere in the city.

How Developers Are Milking the Housing Crisis for Profit

This is how homelessness happens. These absurdly small, dorm-style, windowless nightmares are efforts by developers to capitalize on the housing crisis. Absolutely no more square footage in the densely populated town of Berkeley should be squandered on any proposal that makes no effort to address the housing crisis.

A Plan to Establish Homeless Courts in Santa Cruz

The time is right for a new holistic approach to justice that enables homeless people to lead fulfilling lives in their community. Whether it is in the name of social justice or criminal justice or restorative justice, the Homeless Court program will advance human justice for those in our city experiencing homelessness.

Society Excludes and Denies Employment to Disabled Persons

Panhandling is intrinsically no less honorable than many socially acceptable professions, such as working for financial companies that offer predatory loans to desperate people. Another dishonorable, but respected job is inventing weapons in the aerospace industry that could one day facilitate the demise of life on our planet.