CCHR Florida Celebrates 35 Years of Advocacy for Mental Health Rights

The Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) recently celebrated 35 years as a mental health watchdog at an event held in the historic Fort Harrison in downtown Clearwater. The event highlighted the organization's past and ongoing achievements in the field of mental health human rights.

Hundreds of supporters, along with CCHR Florida executives and staff, gathered for a lavish banquet. The event featured an awards ceremony where Diane Stein, President of CCHR Florida, recognized individuals who had shown exceptional support for the humanitarian efforts of the organization. Before the awards presentation, Stein provided a brief history of CCHR's evolution and milestones.

Founded in 1977, CCHR Florida initiated its advocacy journey by addressing the issue of consent for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in Tallahassee. This campaign resulted in legislation requiring informed consent before ECT could be administered to patients, a significant victory for patient rights in Florida. Prior to this legislation, patients labeled as mentally ill could be subjected to ECT without their consent, a procedure that involves administering up to 460 volts of electricity to a patient's brain. Documented effects of ECT include brain damage, long-term memory loss, and even death. In Texas, the only state that reports deaths within 14 days post-ECT treatment, a death rate has been revealed that suggests an estimated 300 deaths nationally each year from ECT.

Another significant achievement for CCHR was its investigation and exposure of patient abuse at Anclote Manor Psychiatric Hospital in Tarpon Springs. The facility, primarily for teenage boys, had gained a national reputation partly because judges from across the U.S. gave troubled boys the choice between prosecution and treatment at Anclote Manor. CCHR's investigation revealed abusive practices such as insulin shock therapy and the wrapping of patients in freezing sheets. Public demonstrations depicting these abuses garnered widespread attention, ultimately leading to the hospital's closure.

Today, CCHR Florida boasts thousands of members statewide and has successfully secured the release of over 1,700 people from illegal Baker Acts since 2015. The organization has received nine awards for its work in protecting mental health human rights.

During the celebration, Stein and Executive Director Samuel Guillard reaffirmed CCHR's commitment to continue fighting for mental health human rights until all Floridians are safe from abuse. For more information on CCHR or to report abuse, individuals can visit the organization's offices in Clearwater.

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. The Florida chapter of CCHR is an award-winning nonprofit in the areas of mental health human rights and government relations. L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, first brought psychiatric imprisonment to wide public notice, stating in 1969 that "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.'"