CLEARWATER, Fla., Aug. 31, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a non-profit mental health watchdog co-established by the Church of Scientology to expose human rights violations and dedicated to the protection of children, has filed more than 4,300 complaints documenting psychiatric abuses and rights violations in an effort to clean up the field of mental health.
Operating a hotline to provide free assistance to individuals who find themselves caught up in the mental health system, CCHR receives numerous reports of alleged abuse and rights violations and has filed over 4,300 complaints with the appropriate government agencies and state officials.
Referred to by federal authorities as one of the “hot spots for health care fraud” in the nation, 194,354 people in Florida were sent for involuntary psychiatric examinations under the Baker Act, during fiscal year 2015/2016 and 32,475 of them were children.i ii
“State law should protect the human and civil rights of the citizens but the Baker Act has become a source of gross violations of these rights,” said Diane Stein, President CCHR Florida.
CCHR Florida reports that since 2015, they have seen a dramatic increase in the number of calls detailing abuses ranging from unlawful detainment, to over drugging, sexual assault and even death. As a result, CCHR expanded their Abuse Case Documentation area and has been working to ensure that each actionable case is fully documented and filed with the proper authorities. Their hotline is manned by staff and volunteers trained in the mental health law through the Florida Department of Children and Families and when an individual calls for assistance they are educated on their rights under the law, given assistance to address the situation and any abuse is fully documented.
Victims of psychiatric abuse, as well as their friends and family, are encouraged to call the hotline at 800-782-2878, to fill out an abuse case report form on the CCHR website or to come into the center at 109 N. Fort Harrison which is open seven days a week. The assistance provided by CCHR is free of charge. 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.’”
i Florida Unit Investigating Medicaid Fraud Gets High Marks
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/florida/articles/2017-03-19/florida-unit-investigating-medicaid-fraud-gets-high-marks
ii The Baker Act Annual Report
http://www.usf.edu/cbcs/baker-act/documents/annual_report.pdf
CONTACT: Media Contact: Diane Stein President, CCHR Florida 727-442-8820 [email protected] www.cchrflorida.org