Prop. 63 supporters march on campus

By Chhun Sun

About 35 years ago, California legislators made a promise to people with severe mental illness that it would provide them with mental health care.

But, according to supporters of Proposition 63, a mental health initiative, California broke its promise.

In a statewide effort to pass the proposition in the Nov. 2 election, supporters marched at Fresno State on Monday with picket signs that read “Yes for mental health” and “Help save lives. Yes on 63.” Then, at the Free Speech area, supporters started their noontime rally. The majority of the supporters were professionals in mental health.

Jeff Fly, a Fresno State alumnus and now CEO of Turning Point, a non-profit organization for social services, offered his support by participating in his first rally for the proposition, which would place a one percent tax on income above $1 million a year, according to pamphlet for the Campaign for Mental Health.

“Some people are against those taxes,” Fly said. “But I would pay those taxes that will help those who need mental health care.”

If the proposition passes, Fly said, the clinic his organization runs would double its capacity of mentally disabled patients to about 280 people.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to correct an error that’s 35 years old,” Fly said.

Some of the supporters were affected by the lack of treatment provided by the state.

Gigi Blazier, now a staff member of adult services in the department of behavioral health in Fresno County, knows first-hand how much a person with a mental illness needs treatment. The 46-year-old had depression “so severe that I couldn’t take care of my children,” she said.

She said she first visited a private psychiatrist, but they couldn’t provide the treatment she needed. It wasn’t until 1997, she said, when she visited the Fresno County Health Department, that her life changed.

“If it wasn’t for Fresno County Health,” she said, “I wouldn’t be here today.”
The rally came to an end when State Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) took the platform while supporters holding picket signs stood behind him.

“This issue of mental health is not new to California,” he said. “This is a promise made by the state.

When you make a promise, you keep a promise. And that’s about character, and it’s about California’s character.”