During the COVID-19 public health crisis, we are all trying to stay informed and keep up with the most recent updates. MHLAC’s DAYLINKS shares information and resource links we think our clients and client’s families may find useful. As often as possible, we will post links on MHLAC’s facebook page and here, on our website.  Legal Assistance for clients (Massachusetts specific)  www.MassLegalHelp.org – Information for clients seeking legal help www.masslao.org/ – This virtual legal advice service for low income clients is fully operational  Your Rights as They Pertain to C ..read more

Authored by Matthew Cregor, MHLAC Staff Attorney   On Monday, March 6th, Somerville’s school committee adopted recommendations eliminating school-based policing from its public schools. Under the school committee’s new directive, officers can no longer be stationed in schools, where they are too often relegated to the role of default disciplinarian, with harmful results for students.  The new policy limits calls to the police to more significant instances of criminal conduct outlined in the state’s 2022 model memorandum of understanding (MOU) for school-based policing.  The poli ..read more

Authored by Matthew Cregor, MHLAC Staff Attorney On Saturday, July 9th, 40 parents, educators, organizers, and attorneys gathered in Framingham for Organizing for Police-Free Schooling: Understanding the History of School Policing and Strategies for Safe Schools without Police Presence.  The meeting took place as communities across the Commonwealth and country reconsider the placement of police in schools.  Last school year, Worcester removed its school-based police; Somerville suspended its school resource officer program while Brookline eliminated its program altogether.  Aft ..read more

Authored by Jennifer Honig, MHLAC Senior Attorney Introduction   According to the World Economic Forum’s 2016 Global Risks Report, the failure to mitigate and adapt to climate change will be “the most impactful risk” facing communities worldwide in the coming decade—ahead even of weapons of mass destruction and water crises. Blame its cascading effects: As climate change transforms global ecosystems, it affects everything from the places we live to the water we drink to the air we breathe. – National Resource Defense Council  As climate change alters the eart ..read more

Authored by Jennifer Honig, MHLAC Senior Attorney As public state hospitals and schools for people with disabilities in Massachusetts have gradually closed, in many cases the properties have been converted to other uses. In many cases, this development is welcome. As Robert Kirkbride, the descendant of Thomas Story Kirkbride (the designer of many of these American institutions) observed, the idea that these hospitals would appear frozen in time is “a Disney-esque view of history that prevents ou ..read more

Authored by Chidera Onyeoziri, 2018-19 AmeriCorps member November 16 & 17th, the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee in collaboration with the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice hosted Race, Racism and Mental Health, held at Harvard Law School. Aiming to engage and encourage discussion among presenters and attendees, the first day was spent laying out the theoretical and practical scope of the intersection between racism and mental health. Attendees broke out into small discussion groups during day 2 to consider individual and organizational efforts to address rac ..read more