Los Angeles Poverty Department will perform “Chasing Monsters from Under the Bed” again! Saturday, June 4 and Tuesday, June 7. Followed by a discussion with cast and community members.
All performances and discussions are free and open to the public!
The theatrical presentation of the Los Angeles Poverty Department’s Chasing Monsters from Under the Bed explores processes of recovery from mental illness and homelessness at a time when, rather than being provided with care, thousands of homeless mentally ill are abandoned, feared, threatened by aggressive policing, and caged in our mass incarceration system.
June 4, 2016 @ 7:00 pm
@ UC Riverside ARTSblock’s Culver Center for the Arts
3834 Main St, Riverside, CA 92501
The performance will be followed by a discussion with Dr. Greer Sullivan, Director of the Center for Healthy Communities of the UCR School of Medicine, and cast and community members.
Chasing Monsters from Under the Bed accompanies the exhibit States of Incarceration: A National Dialogue of Local Histories on view at the California Museum of Photography. The performance and discussion is free and open to the public.
June 7, 2016 @ 7:30 pm
@ Hammer Museum
10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024
The United States has ten times more mentally ill in its prisons than in psychiatric hospitals. Closer to home, one of every five people released from incarceration in Los Angeles County go directly to the street.
Drawing upon the experientially acquired wisdom of its performers (many of whom are residents of Los Angeles’ Skid Row) Chasing Monsters from Under the Bed portrays the struggles faced by members of Los Angeles Poverty Department and how they have grappled with mental health issues. It is inspired by the most forward-thinking voices within the mental health profession who believe that gaining a meaningful role in life and realizing an identity of one’s own choosing—parent, wife, actress, docent, worker—is both the method and the goal of treatment. The performance, the result of a 10-month workshop process, is collaboratively authored and performed by 14 workshop participants. It is co-directed by Henriëtte Brouwers and John Malpede.
June 8, 2016 @7:30 pm
Hammer Forum
@ Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Police and People with Mental Illness: Avoiding Tragedy, Achieving Solutions
Most American police officers are not trained as social workers, so when they encounter perpetrators and victims with mental illness, the consequences can be tragic.
We examine mental health, crime, and law enforcement with a panel of experts: Linda Boyd, creator of the collaborative SMART team, which pairs law enforcement officers with mental health clinicians; Mollie Lowery, supportive housing pioneer and founder of the Lamp Community; and Detective Paul Scire, officer in charge, Mental Evaluation Unit, Case Assessment Management Program of the Los Angeles Police Department. Moderated by Jorja Leap, executive director of the UCLA Health and Social Justice Partnership.
