In part two of our season finale, we explore some alternatives to police intervention for a mental health crisis. Crisis Response Teams, Crisis Intervention Teams, and the new 988 all offer assistance and mental health services that minimize or eliminate police interaction with people in crisis, leading to much safer outcomes.  We’ll also examine the stigma of seeking mental health treatment - particularly in communities of color - by hearing Kevin Fischer’s lived experience navigating his son’s mental health crises, as well as his own.

Kevin Fischer is the Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Michigan and the President of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) International. He is a mental health and suicide prevention advocate dedicated to eliminating the stigma associated with mental illness. 

MUSIC

“Faster Bassier” (theme song) by DJ Fatha Jul
“Dreary Boots” by DJ Fatha Julz

In part one of our season finale, we hear the story of Samuel Celestin, who was killed by the police while experiencing a mental health crisis. Sammy’s sister, Joanne, and brother, Jean, join us to describe how a 911 call for medical transport to psychiatric treatment was answered by police brutality and death. Why weren’t the police ever held accountable for causing Sammy’s death? Would Sammy have been treated differently if he was not a Black man?

We’ll also speak with DeRay McKesson, a civil rights activist, author, podcaster, and educator who is often associated with the Ferguson protests and Black Lives Matter movement. He co-founded Campaign Zero, a campaign to reduce police violence through policy reform that is helping to bring attention to the Samuel Celestin case. 

MUSIC

“Faster Bassier” (theme song) by DJ Fatha Julz
“Sunset” by Podington Bear // From Free Music Archive // CC BY NC
“Between Four Eyes” by Czar Donic // From Free Music Archive // CC BY NC

In the second part of our episode about cannabis, we will discuss the racist history of the criminalization of cannabis and examine the current legal cannabis space. We have seen that legalizing weed is not enough to repair the damage done by the war on drugs. Who is able to participate in this multi-billion dollar industry and get a piece of that revenue? And what can policy makers do to start creating equity and social justice in such a young and lucrative industry?

Doni Crawford is a Senior Policy Analyst at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute who works with state and local policy makers to address long standing racial and economic inequities affecting communities of color and low-income residents through public policy.

Dianna Benjamin is a freelance writer who covers the cannabis industry for Marijuana Matters, a social justice enterprise whose mission is to create pathways out of poverty for those most harmed by the war on drugs through advocacy, education and entrepreneurship. She also hosts their Green Light Podcast.

John Bailey is the Founder and Lead Convener of the Black Cannabis Equity Initiative (BCEI). BCEI’s mission is to promote progressive sustainable dialogue, positive community engagement and action around fairness and opportunity in the statewide cannabis landscape and acts as a bridge between the Black community and the Colorado cannabis industry.

MUSIC

“Faster Bassier” (theme song) by DJ Fatha Julz
“Dreary Boots” by DJ Fatha Julz
“The Joke’s On Us” by 91nova // From Free Music Archive // CC BY NC
“Thrum Room” by Podington Bear // From Free Music Archive // CC BY NC