Description: A young, white woman with dark hair sits in front of a microphone, pictured mid-speech. The woman pictured is Gail Marker, MSW, co-founder of Green Door DC, giving testimony.
1972-Present
Together, we are celebrating 50 years of protecting & advancing the rights of people with mental disabilities.
Since 1972, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has advocated for the civil rights, full inclusion and equality of adults and children with mental disabilities. We were pivotal in expanding the civil rights movement to include fighting discrimination against, and segregation of, people with mental disabilities. Today, the Bazelon Center accomplishes its goals through a unique combination of impact litigation, public policy advocacy, coalition building, public education, technical assistance and selective individual representation. Our comprehensive approach is designed to achieve the greatest impact. We will continue to fight for justice until people with mental disabilities, especially Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), live free from discrimination, ableism, racism, and with the supports and services they need to reach their full potential.
Description: Portrait of Holly O’Donnell, President and CEO of Bazelon. Holly is a white woman with long brown hair and blue eyes. She is smiling and looking at the camera. She is wearing a black shirt.
A Message from Our President and CEO
Welcome to our yearlong celebration of the Bazelon Center’s 50th year. This is a remarkable milestone for our small but influential and far-reaching organization. Over the past five decades, the Bazelon Center has had an outsized impact on U.S. law and policy, improving the lives of millions of Americans. Our advocacy helped secure constitutional protections, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), federal funding for community services, and the Olmstead decision.
When I joined the Bazelon Center, I discovered that the Bazelon Center finds opportunities and solutions, even where others see dead ends. And the Bazelon Center drives change that lasts.
Despite our accomplishments, children and adults with mental disabilities experience frequent and damaging discrimination. With your partnership and support, we will continue to fight to end discrimination from our nation’s health care, education, criminal, immigration, and numerous other systems.
We invite you to join us throughout 2022 and 2023 for a variety of events and activities in celebration of the Bazelon Center’s 50th anniversary. Together, we will look back at the Center’s origins and history and look ahead to the future. We hope you will celebrate with us. Please check this site often, sign up below, and follow us @bazeloncenter to stay informed.
Our ideas are pretty simple.
Kids should grow up in families and have access to a meaningful education. People should be able to stay in their own homes and get services in their communities. People need jobs – just like people who don’t have disabilities. That’s what we’re fighting for.
—Ira Burnim, Legal Director
Upcoming Events
Summer 2023
Olmstead Anniversary
We will gather virtually to explore advocacy, advancements in policy and how to further Olmstead's mandate and promise so it’s a reality for everyone. More details forthcoming.
Fall 2023
2023 Annual Awards
Join us as we close our celebration of Bazelon’s 50th year. More details forthcoming.
Past Events
7.14.2022
Olmstead Anniversary
On July 14, 2022, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law and the Legal Defense Fund presented: Olmstead's Promise: Ending Police Violence Against Black Disability Communities with Community-Based Services. Black people with mental health disabilities face unique challenges due to both their race and disability, including an increased risk of police violence. Following the 23rd anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C., this conversation will explore the need for, and paths to, community-based services for Black people with mental health disabilities or in crisis to reduce police violence against them.
Featured speakers included:
Estelle Richman, (Retired) Past Advisor to Secretary, HUD
Eric Vassell, Father of Saheed Vassell
Victor Dempsey, Legal Defense Fund, Brother of Delrawn Small
Lewis Bossing, Staff Attorney, Bazelon Center
Puneet Cheema, Manager of Justice in Public Safety Project, Legal Defense Fund
Lisa Cylar Barrett, Director of Policy, Legal Defense Fund
Jalyn Radziminski, Lived-Experience Mental Health Advocate; Communications Manager, Bazelon Center
The Legal Defense Fund and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law also released the report, "Advancing an Alternative to Police: Community-Based Services for Black People with Mental Illness" Learn more from our report about how a robust community-based mental health services system can be a meaningful alternative to a law enforcement response for Black people with mental illness.
9.22.2022
50th Anniversary Awards
On Thursday, September 22, we had an amazing line up of awardees and special guests, including Wade Henderson, Civil Rights and Human Rights Leader; Laurie Hernandez, Olympic Champion and Mental Health Advocate; and U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA). It was an inspirational evening that brought together advocates and supporters across the social justice, law, mental health, and disability rights communities.
Special thanks to all of our awardees including: Vanessa Marie Green of Call BlackLine®, Innovator of the Year; Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu of Project LETS, Emerging Advocate of the Year; Elizabeth B. McCallum of Baker & Hostetler LLP, Outstanding Pro Bono Lawyer; and Harvey Rosenthal of NYAPRS, Inc.; Laura van Tosh, Founder/Convener, Mental Health Policy Roundtable, and Sally Zinman, Mental Health Advocate (in memoriam), our Lifetime Advocacy Awardees.
“We have too many people that are still locked up in psychiatric hospitals that need to come home to their local communities. So much more needs to be done to tear down the walls of separation and segregation.”
- Laura Van Tosh
“Engaging in work grounded in visions for long-term healing, justice and liberation means that we don’t always see the direct impacts of our work. We hope we plant enough seeds in the right places and our piece connects with someone else’s.”
- Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu
A black and white photo featuring 14 individuals are gathered around a desk in an office, smiling for the camera. This is the Bazelon staff from 1980, which included Robert Plotkin, Bob Moon, July Smolen, Kay Rigling, Phillip (Chris) Christopher, Paul Friedman, Diane Johnson, Susan Winders, Margaret Farrell Ewing, Jane Yohalem, Bill Reedy, Norman Rosenberg, Lee Carty, and Linda Barnes
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