CLEARWATER, Fla., Dec. 28, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In honor of the January 27 th International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) of Florida, a mental health watch-dog group that investigates and exposes mental health abuses, is holding a month long open house beginning on Monday, January 2, 2017 at its headquarters in downtown Clearwater. The anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau was designated International Holocaust Remembrance Day by the United Nations General Assembly to honor the victims of the Nazi era and to encourage the development of programs aimed at preventing another Holocaust. In accordance with these aims, CCHR Florida will tour visitors through its “Industry of Death” Museum and educate them on abuses to mental health laws.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/Attachm...8630f4b6a7
One example is The Baker Act, the mental health law in Florida which covers all aspects of mental health. This act was originally designed to prevent the incarceration of individuals without just cause. It was named after Maxine Baker, a former State Representative from Miami, who stated “In the name of mental health, we deprive them of their most precious possession – liberty.” Unfortunately, the Baker Act is now being used to deprive both adults and children of their liberty.
A 2015 Annual Report of Baker Act Data prepared for the Agency for Health Care Administration noted that there were 193,410 involuntary examinations initiated in calendar year 2015 with 32,882 initiated on minors. In Florida, a child may be removed from school grounds and sent for involuntary examination without parental consent or knowledge.
“Our Abuse Case Hotline receives calls every day and unfortunately many of these calls are from the friends and families of individuals who did not meet the criteria for Baker Acting but were still sent to and detained in a mental health receiving facility,” said Diane Stein, President of CCHR Florida.
The CCHR Florida headquarters is located at 109 N. Fort Harrison Avenue, Clearwater. For more information, call 727-442-8820 or visit www.cchrflorida.org .
About CCHR: Initially established by the Church of Scientology and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz in 1969, CCHR’s mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections.
It was L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, who brought the terror of psychiatric imprisonment to the notice of the world. In March 1969, he said, “Thousands and thousands are seized without process of law, every week, over the ‘free world’ tortured, castrated, killed. All in the name of ‘mental health.’”
Media Contact: Diane Stein President, CCHR Florida 727-442-8820 diane@cchrflorida.org www.cchrflorida.org
