CCHR Hosting Open House Honoring International Holocaust Remembrance Day

In honor of the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Florida is holding a month long open house beginning on Monday, January 2, 2017 in order to brief Floridians on involuntary commitment and their rights under the law.

Clearwater, United States – December 26, 2016 /PressCable/ —

Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a non-profit mental health watchdog dedicated to the eradication of abuses committed under the guise of mental health, is hosting a month long open house in January to honor International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, January 27th, was designated International Holocaust Remembrance Day by the United Nations General Assembly with the intention to not only honor the victims of the Nazi era but to also encourage the development of educational programs to prevent future genocides.

In honor of this day, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) of Florida is holding a month long open house beginning on Monday, January 2, 2017 in order to brief Floridians on involuntary commitment and their rights under the law.

The Baker Act, the mental health law in Florida which covers all aspects of mental health including involuntary commitment, was originally designed to prevent the indiscriminate incarceration or of individuals without just cause. This statute was named after Maxine Baker, the former State Representative from Miami who sponsored the Act, who stated “In the name of mental health, we deprive them of their most precious possession – liberty.”

Unfortunately, over the years, this Act that was intended to protect and preserve the liberties of the mentally ill has become abused and is now a source of rights violations for all Floridians including children.

According to the 2015 Annual Report of Baker Act Data prepared for the Agency for Health Care Administration there were 193,410 involuntary examinations initiated in calendar year 2015. An astounding 32,882 were initiated on minors. Though many parents are not aware of this fact, 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. “When we field a call from a distraught parent of a child sent for involuntary examination without their permission or knowledge they are furious to learn this can happen.”

Individuals interested in learning more about the Baker Act and their rights under the law are encouraged to visit the CCHR center located at 109 N. Fort Harrison Ave. in downtown Clearwater. For more information please 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.’”

For more information, please visit http://www.cchrflorida.org/

Contact Info:
Name: Diane Stein
Email: publicaffairs@cchrflorida.org
Organization: Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Florida
Address: 109 N. Fort Harrison Ave, Clearwater, 33755 United States
Phone: (727) 442-8820

Release ID: 156543