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Andrew Holland Foundation merges with mental illness group in SLO County

Tribune - 1/4/2022

Jan. 4—The boards of two San Luis Obispo County organizations dedicated to serving the needs of people with serious mental illness have merged, according to a news release.

The San Luis Obispo County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Andrew Holland Foundation merged effective Jan. 1, according to the release from the National Alliance on Mental Illness San Luis Obispo County.

The programs and services that were offered through both organizations will continue under the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, according to the release. The merger also created the Andrew Holland Advocacy Committee, which aims to identify gaps in mental health services throughout the county.

"By working together as one organization we are able to increase our resources and be more efficient as we advocate and provide support to those with mental illness and their loved ones," said Aurora Williams, president of the board of NAMI San Luis Obispo County. "We are excited to be able to better serve San Luis Obispo County."

The Andrew Holland Foundation was established to advocate for people with severe mental illness who are in police custody. The foundation was established using money from a $5 million settlement between the San Luis Obispo County government and the family of Andrew Holland, according to a past Tribune report.

Holland, an Atascadero resident, died from an embolism in January 2017 after being strapped for 46 hours in a restraint chair at the San Luis Obispo County Jail.

The foundation partnered with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office to sponsor crisis intervention training sessions, which the Sheriff's Office made mandatory for all deputies, according to a past Tribune report.

The merged organization will continue to sponsor crisis intervention training with the Sheriff's Office, according to the news release.

"(Crisit intervention) training helps to reduce arrests of people with mental illness while simultaneously increasing the likelihood that those individuals will receive mental health services," according to the release.

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