Community Forum

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Bending Towards Justice: A Summit for Mental Health Equity

• Registration: 9:00 AM
• Community Forum: 10:15 AM – 6:00 PM
• Keynote Lunch: 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM
• Closing Reception: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Up to 5.0 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for Licensed Social Workers (LCSW/LSW), Licensed Counselors (LCPC/LPC), Psychologists, and RNs for participating in programming on January 16th. Up to 3.0 hours of IL-MCLE will be offered for Lawyers.

Today, far too many people dealing with mental health and addiction challenges experience the justice system in lieu of justice itself. We convene this year with purpose and power and love to advocate for the kind of justice struggling individuals and families deserve; a life free from discrimination and stigma, the opportunity to overcome health challenges in pursuit of a fulfilling life, and the right to affordable healthcare that treats the whole person – body, brain and spirit. The daytime Community Forum will convene the best and brightest and brave to discuss what true justice looks like for people with mental health and addiction challenges, how far we are on the arch to equality, and address the question Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. posed fifty years ago – “Where do we go from here?”

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” ― Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

9:00 am Registration Opens

9:45 am Grand Ballroom Opens

10:15 am Welcome and Invocation

• Pastor Christopher T. Harris, Sr.; Senior Pastor, Bright Star Church of God in Christ; CEO, Bright Star Community Outreach, Inc. and The TURN Center
• Patrick J. Kennedy; Former U.S. Representative, Rhode Island; Co-Founder, One Mind and Founder, The Kennedy Forum

10:35 am WHAT DOES JUSTICE LOOK LIKE FOR PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION CHALLENGES?

This framing plenary will help us define justice as a human rights issue and set the stage for an inspiring, thought-provoking day of discussions.

• Laurie Garduque; Director, Criminal Justice, MacArthur Foundation
• Mary Giliberti; CEO, National Alliance on Mental Illness
• Cornell Brooks; Senior Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School; Visiting Fellow, Institute of Politics, Harvard Kennedy School; Contributor, CNN
• Mark Holden; General Counsel, Koch Industries
• Patricio Marquez; Lead Public Health Specialist, Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice, The World Bank
• Sam Siatta; Carpenter, Former Marine

11:30 am – 12:15 pm Morning Breakout Sessions

The morning conversations highlight how injustices are built into our culture and health systems, stacking the odds against those with mental health and addiction challenges.

MENTAL HEALTH: HIDDEN BIASES OF GOOD PEOPLE

How can we use what we know about implicit bias to reduce stigma and discrimination and promote belonging? Research shows we may be stigmatizing people without awareness. Based on the science of how humans make decisions, learn about how implicit bias impacts the way we think of others and ourselves, and, consequently, how it impacts our behavior.

• Mahzarin Banaji; Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics, Department of Psychology, Harvard University

SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL: ENDING SEGREGATION IN MENTAL HEALTH

This discussion will focus on the various layers of inequity that exist in our current health system, from the need for better integration to the reality that stigma remains a barrier for both patients and providers.

• Henry Harbin, MD; Former CEO, Magellan Healthcare
• Glenda Wrenn, MD, MSHP; Director, Kennedy Center for Mental Health Policy and Research
• Marc Harrison, MD; President & CEO, Intermountain Healthcare
• Anne Shields, MHA, RN; Associate Director, Advancing Integrated Mental Health Solutions Center, University of Washington
• Mayor Larry Morrissey; National Vice President for Government Relations, Marathon Health

WOMEN: CRIMINALS OR SURVIVORS?

The number of women in prison grew 800% in the past 30 years. This discussion will focus on the unique criminal justice pathways of women and girls, which are disproportionately paved by histories of sexual/domestic abuse and trauma; and ways that trauma-informed, evidence-based practices can more effectively and humanely address their challenges.

• Alyssa Benedict; Executive Director, CORE Associates and Partner, National Resource Center on Justice Involved Women
• Deanne Benos; Founder and Project Director, The Women’s Justice Initiative; National Chairwoman, American Probation and Parole Association Women and Girls Task Force
• Susan Burton; Founder, A New Way of Life and Author, Becoming Ms. Burton
• Michelle Jones; Graduate Student, New York University

SUICIDE IN JAILS: CAN IT BE PREVENTED?

Suicide accounts for 35% of all death in jails. Our society has the responsibility to ensure the safety of those it incarcerates and we are failing in this area. This discussion will explore a new collaborative initiative to identify and implement system-wide, evidence-based suicide prevention strategies in the adult and juvenile corrections systems.

• Steve Moore; Co-Chair of the Board of Directors, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Illinois Chapter
• Michael Rosanoff; Senior Director, Project 2025, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
• Karen Abram, PhD; Associate Director, Health Disparities and Public Policy Program Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
• Joseph Penn, MD; Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and Director, Mental Health Services, UTMB Correctional Managed Care

12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Keynote Lunch, Grand Ballroom

“Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our Keynote Lunch will feature thoughtful conversations about the critical balance of both power and love to create change, and about the relationship of both to purpose and justice.

PERFORMANCE

• Storycatchers Theatre

WELCOME

• Patrick J. Kennedy; Former U.S. Representative, Rhode Island; Co-Founder, One Mind and Founder, The Kennedy Forum

CALLED TO RISE

• David Brown; Former Chief of Police, Dallas, Texas and Author

FIRESIDE CHAT; IMAGINE JUSTICE

• Liz Dozier; Founder & CEO, Chicago Beyond
• Common; Academy Award, Golden Globe, Emmy and Grammy-winning Actor and Musician
• Scott Budnick; Founder & President, Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC)
• Charles Anderson; App Developer

2:15 pm – 3:00 pm Afternoon Breakout Sessions

The afternoon breakouts will address some of the solutions being applied to right the system, how the current backward political and financial incentives and barriers can be reversed, and the role of the justice system itself.

MINDFUL JUSTICE: TO PAUSE AND PROTECT

Researchers have linked policing careers to high rates of depression, PTSD, and substance abuse. Officers are more prone to attempt suicide than the general population, and more likely to kill themselves than get killed on duty. Officers are often reluctant to seek out mental health treatment. When police suffer from debilitating stress, they are more likely to exhibit problems at work, and some experts are suggesting that one way to help reduce unnecessary police violence is by improving officer wellness.

• Richard Goerling; Founder, The Mindful Badge Initiative
• Jennifer Tejada; Chief of Police, Emeryville, California

THE RIGHT TO LIFE AND LIBERTY

In 1976, the Supreme Court ruled in Estelle v. Gamble that prisons are constitutionally required to provide adequate medical care to inmates in their custody. As a result, prisoners are the only group of Americans with a constitutional right to health care. This provocative discussion will explore the history, ethics and challenges of treatment for mental illness and addiction inside and outside of incarceration.

• Susan Mizner; Director, Disability Rights Program, American Civil Liberties Union
• Nneka Jones Tapia, PsyD; Executive Director, Cook County Department of Corrections
• Terry Carl; Jailer, Kenton County, Kentucky Detention Center

POLITICS, MONEY, AND THE COURAGE TO CHANGE

For one dollar spent on treatment, up to three dollars are saved in crime reduction. Given the crime-deterring value, you’d think we’d make it easy for patients to get treatment. We don’t. Join us for a provocative discussion about the challenges of “reinvestment” away from jails and prisons toward better care, and how we can address the systemic and political barriers that sometimes get in the way.

• Richard Cho; Director, Behavioral Health Justice Center, The Council on State Governments
• Harold Pollack; Co-Director, The University of Chicago Crime Lab
• Marc Levin; Vice President, Criminal Justice Policy, Right on Crime
• Toni Preckwinkle; Cook County Board President

REROUTING THE SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE

How can meaningful non-justice system alternatives reroute the path that far too many youth take from a childhood of adversity and trauma to the juvenile justice system? Where is the intersection of restorative justice and the behavioral health system? This session will include justice-involved youth and explore what is working as we re-envision a more hopeful journey for young people struggling with mental health, addiction and trauma challenges.

• Patrick Keenan-Devlin; Executive Director & Juvenile Justice Attorney, Moran Center for Youth Advocacy
• Xavier McElrath-Bey; Senior Advisor and National Advocate, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth
• Angelica Diamond Garcia; Actor, Storycatchers Theatre

3:15 pm Afternoon Plenaries, Grand Ballroom

THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC vs. THE WAR ON DRUGS: DOES RACE AFFECT HOW WE RESPOND?

Has the War on Drugs really changed? The fact that the opioid epidemic is primarily striking white people may help explain why it is largely being called an “epidemic” and treated as a public health crisis rather than a “war.” But the jury is out on whether the current approach to the crisis and the intersection of the de-incarceration movement represent a real shift, or a new description for the same approach that results in people with addiction challenges being treated behind bars.

• Zachary Siegel; Journalist
• Dr. Kelly Clark; President, Board of Directors, American Society of Addiction Medicine
• Dr. Helena Hansen; Assistant Professor, Departments of Anthropology and Psychiatry, New York University
• Mayor Svante L. Myrick; Mayor, Ithaca, NY

4:00 pm Talks, Grand Ballroom

• A New Way of Life Conversation: Susan Burton; Founder, A New Way of Life and Author, Becoming Ms. Burton with Michelle Jones; Graduate Student, New York University
• Tom Arnold; Actor, Comedian, Recovery Advocate
• Shaka Senghor; Criminal Justice Reform Advocate and Author, Writing My Wrongs

4:40pm EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND JUSTICE FOR SOME?

Citing first hand experience, this conversation will review some of the psychological reasons so many young men in Chicago are pulling the trigger and discuss how the intersection of trauma, environment and circumstance collude to stack the deck against young people. Formerly gang-affiliated men will share how addressing this trauma head-on and finding opportunities to earn a living is the first step to recovery.

• Arne Duncan; Managing Partner, Emerson Collective; Former U.S. Secretary of Education
• Chicago CRED participants

5:15 pm CALL TO ACTION – WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

• Ben Miller; Chief Policy Officer, Well Being Trust
• Tim Shriver; Co-founder, Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL); Chair, Special Olympics International
• Cornell Brooks; Senior Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School; Visiting Fellow, Institute of Politics, Harvard Kennedy School; Contributor, CNN
• Kim Foxx; State’s Attorney, Cook County, Illinois
• Patrick J. Kennedy; Former U.S. Representative, Rhode Island; Co-Founder, One Mind and Founder, The Kennedy Forum

5:55 pm PERFORMANCE

• Storycatchers Theatre

Closing remarks

• Peter O’Brien; Chairman, The Kennedy Forum Illinois

6:00 pm Reception