Crisis and Recovery Enhancement (CARE) TA Center

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Mental Health Needs Following Rapid Release from Jails and Prisons with COVID-19 Outbreaks

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Hours: 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

The CARE TA Center provides training and technical assistance regarding the crisis continuum of care and justice diversion in California. With the rapid release of people following high rates of COVID-19 in incarcerated facilities, mental health needs and gaps in service are amplified by reduced mental health services due to social distancing, the recession, and elevated COVID-19 rates in communities of color and low-income communities. This webinar will provide real-time insight into the emerging needs across the state and highlight challenges and opportunities to improve the system of crisis continuum of care and justice diversion.

Meet the Trainer

Terah Lawyer

Terah Lawyer

Terah Lawyer finds purpose in working to improve the justice system. She is the program manager for the Homecoming Project, an innovative re-entry housing program at Impact Justice. Her role includes matching eligible participants to compatible hosts while securing a support network for each arrangement. Being formerly incarcerated, Terah has been an advocate for incarcerated people for more than a decade as a peer health educator, a certified drug and alcohol counselor, and a youth diversion specialist. She is a past chair of the Beyond Incarceration Panel with the Central California Women’s Facility. She also developed numerous curricula for therapeutic workshops and groups that empower and change the lives of people in California’s state prisons. Terah is a musician, graphic designer, and public speaker. She serves as a spokeswoman for the Drop the Life Without the Possibility of Parole campaign. She was featured on “A Living Chance” and “Wanda’s Picks” podcasts. Terah has also been at the forefront of restorative justice efforts, both inside prison and beyond. She interned at American Friends Service Committee’s Healing Justice Project, volunteers with the California Coalition for Women’s Prisoners, and is a Next Generation Fellow at Center of Juvenile and Criminal Justice and the National Institution for Criminal Justice Reform. She joins Impact Justice with undergraduate degrees in business management and social & behavioral science. Terah is a Bay Area native.