For decades Berkeley Wellness Center has been a lifeline for people managing mental health challenges, offering art, music therapy and a place to belong. It's doors will be closing on Friday, June 19, 2026 after losing county funding under Prop 1.

Katherine Wolf speaks upon peer support and the importance of services for people with mental health disabilities. 

Disability rights advocates on Monday gathered outside the state Capitol to push back on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed cuts to in-home supportive services.

Disability rights advocates on Monday gathered outside the state Capitol to push back on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed cuts to in-home supportive services.

State lawmakers have one week – until June 15 - to pass a budget for the coming fiscal year, which starts July 1, and one set of proposed cuts could threaten life-saving medical care for tens of thousands of Californians.

East Bay pastor Albert Macklin, who is blind, says rideshare drivers have refused him service at least seven times in the past two weeks because he travels with a guide dog named Winter.

California's vote-by-mail system, used by roughly 85% of the state's voters, runs on a few small but firm requirements: a marked ballot, a signed envelope and a postmark by Election Day. For voters with disabilities, those steps can become barriers; and the state has built in a number of accommodations that advocates say are not widely known.

As lawmakers work to pass a balanced budget by June 15, Gov. Newsom is proposing a change to Medi-Cal that could threaten eligibility for tens of thousands.

Wheelchair user Julia Feinberg, who has spinal muscular atrophy, is very aware that she will need more assistance as she ages in Oakland. She lives independently thanks to the 600 hours of help she gets each month to have someone assist with daily tasks, like getting out of bed, grocery shopping, and preparing meals.

LOS ANGELES - Gov. Gavin Newsom promised to help thousands of homeless Californians when he launched a new mental health court in 2023. So far, it has struggled to help the sickest, most vulnerable people, but a Southern California lawmaker is carrying two proposals this year that she hopes will fix gaps in the program.

A proposed rule change for obtaining Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits could reduce or eliminate income for some 400,000 adults with Down syndrome, dementia and other disabilities who live with low-income relatives, according to a new analysis from ProPublica. It’s a change that advocates worry will further burden disabled people and their families — and could make it harder for disabled people to stay in their homes instead of institutions. 

At the start of this year, a Fairfield woman named Meryl Pomponio filed suit against a handful of small eateries in midtown and East Sacramento. The businesses were varied: HeavenLy’s Yogurt, Centro Cocina Mexicana, OBO’ Italian Table & Bar and the Round Corner Tavern. But the story was the same. Pomponio, a 70-year-old woman who uses a wheelchair, had not had full access to all the restaurant’s amenities. She alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a 1990 civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities.

When CARE Court was first proposed, Gov. Gavin Newsom heralded it as the solution to treat thousands struggling from a serious mental illness through involuntary treatment. Families breathed a sigh of relief knowing their adult children had a way to become mentally stabilized after years of struggling with a broken health care system. But the bill was changed to favor voluntary treatment and their hopes were dashed.

In San Jose, families say California’s CARE Court, the much-touted civil program meant to route adults with psychosis into help, is leaving many of their loved ones stuck in limbo instead of in treatment. Parents and advocates describe petitions tossed on technicalities, clinicians refusing to sign key affidavits, and long waits that stretch on while people never receive the services judges say they should get.

When CARE Court was first proposed, Gov. Gavin Newsom heralded it as the solution to treat thousands struggling from a serious mental illness through involuntary treatment. Families breathed a sigh of relief knowing their adult children had a way to become mentally stabilized after years of struggling with a broken health care system. But the bill was changed to favor voluntary treatment and their hopes were dashed.

The San Diego Sheriff's Office Saturday released the name of a 34-year-old man who died last week after apparently attempting to kill himself inside his cell at San Diego Central Jail. Officials identified the man as Grant Parker, who had been arrested last month on suspicion of murder. Police said he stabbed 41-year-old Mark Thomas outside the Hotel Churchill in downtown San Diego.

Two years after passing by a razor-thin margin of 50.2% to 49.8%, Gov. Gavin Newsom says California’s Proposition 1 has exceeded its projected goals, expanding treatment capacity and housing resources as part of an effort to overhaul the state’s behavioral health system.

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans Monday to allocate an additional $1 billion to support his homelessness programs, focusing on expanding housing and behavioral health services. Newsom now claims he is “Repairing California’s behavioral health system,” which he says he began in 2019.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that California is expanding resources to support its first-of-its-kind mental health court program, but threatened to divert those funds from counties, including multiple in the Bay Area, where implementation is falling behind.

A growing coalition of civil rights and community organizations today announced their opposition to a proposed voter ID initiative that would impose sweeping new restrictions on how every Californian casts their ballot and harm communities that already face obstacles to voting.

In City of Gilroy v. Superior Court, the California Supreme Court on Jan. 15 unanimously ruled that governments must be held accountable even when records no longer exist — but cities aren’t required to preserve documents under the California Public Records Act. The ruling strengthens holding agencies accountable for slow or deficient responses.