Day Three: Action Week for Illinois Community Emergency Services and Supports Act (CESSA)

 

October 15, 2020 | by Jerome Palliser

Advocacy Team

Advocacy@accessliving.org

(312) 640-2100

Action Week for Illinois Community Emergency Services and Supports Act (CESSA): Day Three

Contact your Illinois State Representative!

Access Living friends and allies:

Today is Day 3 of Access Living’s Week of Action to support the Community Emergency Services and Supports Act (CESSA). For Day 3, we are asking those of you who are in Illinois to contact your state rep to ask them to support statewide access to 911-level emergency response for mental/behavioral crises that do not involve police. Your voices are needed! Here is the quick action link to send an email to your state rep. You must live in Illinois to take action.

About CESSA

  • CESSA is an Illinois state bill (HB5009/SB3449) that aims to increase coordination for 911-level emergency services in order to create a statewide mobile response option for mental and behavioral health crises.
  • This mobile response would not involve police.
  • CESSA was developed by the members of Advance Your Leadership Power (AYLP), Access Living’s disability and racial justice organizing group, over the past four years.
  • CESSA is NOT based on a co-responder model, (where police are accompanied by social workers).
  • Instead, CESSA aims to take the load off law enforcement with improved response to non-violent emergency situations.

Learn more about CESSA here.

What else can you do?: Visit this link and scroll to the end to submit your personal testimony. There are also a lot of great ideas for sharing your personal testimony on social media as well; be sure to use the hashtag #SupportCESSA! You can also submit a video, too.

We’re so thankful for your help to #SupportCESSA and get the word out before the Illinois veto session in mid-November. Help us raise awareness about why communities need non-police emergency response options for people with disabilities in crises!

Virtual Lobbying Week Schedule

  • October 12: Advocate Personal Testimony Day
  • October 13: Emergency Responder/Professional Testimony Day (TODAY!)
  • October 14: Illinois House Advocacy Day
  • October 15: Illinois Senate Advocacy Day
  • October 16: Governor of Illinois Advocacy Day
  • After our Week of Action, join us for an online mobilizing meeting. Date TBD.

Thank you for your advocacy