Public Safety Policy @InstituteCicero “a powerful ally” - Bloomberg News “earnest” - New York Times “young and bespectacled” - WORLD
Joined September 2011
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Devon Kurtz retweeted
This weekend, my husband and I were graciously invited to the Courage Awards event hosted by @InstituteCicero in Austin, where they honor lawmakers making a difference. Impressed by Cicero’s work, I met @dkurtzz, who is passionate about helping the seriously mentally ill. What impresses me most, aside from his intellect, is his willingness to listen and learn, something rare these days. I took few pictures but will remember the many conversations with caring people.
Devon Kurtz retweeted
TX Speaker @Burrows4TX receives a standing ovation upon being given a well-earned Courage Award at @InstituteCicero awards dinner in Austin.
Devon Kurtz retweeted
I can’t get over how simple and cost effective it would be if we just focused on the small group of severely mentally ill people in our nation instead of mental wellness for the masses and the myth of prevention. It’s completely doable.
In 1949, Robert Felix became the first director of the newly created National Institute of Mental Health.
Felix and the psychiatrists who built NIMH were devotees of Freudian theory. They believed in an unproven, public health prevention approach to mental illness.
That belief shaped where federal funding and attention went for decades: toward prevention and general “mental hygiene,” away from the severely mentally ill.
Psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey has argued this ideological choice, not a lack of resources, is why the sickest patients were neglected as the country emptied its psychiatric hospitals.
The ideology that built the system still shapes who it fails today.
Devon Kurtz retweeted
Ever wonder where all of those millions of dollars for mental health recovery go? Not to the seriously mentally ill. It’s time to reconfigure SAMHSA and prioritize those most in need.
@SecKennedy @HHSResponse @HHSGov
ciceroinstitute.org/blog/sam…
Devon Kurtz retweeted
It’s true.
OPERATION SAVE SKID ROW:
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli says there are nonprofits stealing money that’s supposed to go to the homeless.
He says a lot of people are making millions of dollars off homeless people in Skid Row, and that has to end.
“You’re going to go to prison if you're doing that.”
Devon Kurtz retweeted
🚨BREAKING: Federal agents are targeting drug trafficking operations on LA’s Skid Row following and elaborate undercover operation.
Dealers are also accused of deliberately exploiting vulnerable people on the very days their government benefits arrive.
This is an urgent reminder of how addiction, homelessness, and drug trafficking intersect.
LONG OVERDUE.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Devon Kurtz retweeted
Federal law is clear. Under 21 U.S.C. § 856, it is a crime to knowingly maintain any place for the purpose of distributing or using a controlled substance, or to manage a property and knowingly make it available for drug use. Up to 20 years in prison.
Authorities could enforce this in Skid Row.
Some reports estimate 75% of the unsheltered struggle with addiction.
Facilities that allow drug use and dealing on their property aren’t helping people recover. They’re the problem the law was written for.
Devon Kurtz retweeted
DEA arrests dozens in vast drug raid at LA’s Skid Row trib.al/OiAkGtR
Cool now arrest the people running the “Care Campus” for violating the federal crackhouse statute.
Patrick Grandy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, discussed this morning's law enforcement operations targeting narcotics trafficking and sales in the #SkidRow area of Los Angeles. Grandy thanked partners with the FBI, DEA, IRS, ATF, LAPD, U.S. Marshals and many others that are part of the Homeland Security Task Force and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Initiative for their continued efforts to combat violent crime affecting some of the most vulnerable members of our community. #SaveSkidRow
Devon Kurtz retweeted
Feds arrest more than a dozen suspects in sweeping Skid Row drug crackdown
latimes.com/california/story…
Devon Kurtz retweeted
🚨#BREAKING: Hundreds of federal agents have descended on and are SWARMING SKID ROW sidewalk tents, businesses, and storefronts right now!!!!
The DEA, FBI, ATF, and LAPD are all present and making arrests.
Over 25+ people were arrested
Devon Kurtz retweeted
Not only are we arresting the Skid Row drug dealers, but we are also taking their cars. Anything purchased with drug money is subject to forfeiture.
OPERATION SAVE SKID ROW ARRESTS: This morning we executed 28 arrest warrants and 44 search warrants for federal drug trafficking offenses involving fentanyl, PCP, and other narcotics in and around Skid Row.
Drug dealers prey on the homeless, keeping them addicted to horrific drugs and collecting their government assistance money in exchange. It’s all about making money. That ends today.
This was a massive joint operation between the @HSTaskForce and LAPD. Over 300 law enforcement officers participated. More details at our 1 p.m. PSD press conference.
Devon Kurtz retweeted
JUST IN: Federal and local authorities are carrying out a major narcotics operation in Skid Row this morning, targeting alleged fentanyl and PCP dealers.
Cicero was there yesterday.
Our team, led by @dkurtzz and @Hopestreetco, walked 5th and Towne on Wednesday and documented drug dealing openly on the sidewalks, preying on people too sick to protect themselves.
We're back on the ground today.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 45, per the DEA. Some reports estimate 75% of the unsheltered struggle with addiction.
Get the drugs that fuel homelessness out of the places people are suffering the most.
Devon Kurtz retweeted
Deterrence is critical to slow the flow of illicit drugs on our streets. It just is. This is the way.
OPERATION SAVE SKID ROW ARRESTS: This morning we executed 28 arrest warrants and 44 search warrants for federal drug trafficking offenses involving fentanyl, PCP, and other narcotics in and around Skid Row.
Drug dealers prey on the homeless, keeping them addicted to horrific drugs and collecting their government assistance money in exchange. It’s all about making money. That ends today.
This was a massive joint operation between the @HSTaskForce and LAPD. Over 300 law enforcement officers participated. More details at our 1 p.m. PSD press conference.
Devon Kurtz retweeted
OPERATION SAVE SKID ROW ARRESTS: This morning we executed 28 arrest warrants and 44 search warrants for federal drug trafficking offenses involving fentanyl, PCP, and other narcotics in and around Skid Row.
Drug dealers prey on the homeless, keeping them addicted to horrific drugs and collecting their government assistance money in exchange. It’s all about making money. That ends today.
This was a massive joint operation between the @HSTaskForce and LAPD. Over 300 law enforcement officers participated. More details at our 1 p.m. PSD press conference.
Our team was walking Skid Row yesterday and the brazenness of drug dealers who were preying on vulnerable homeless people was horrifying.
Grateful that the administration is putting its foot down and saving lives through enforcement.
🚨 BREAKING: Hundreds of federal agents -- FBI, DEA, ATF, U.S. Attorney's Office, and LAPD -- are SWARMING Skid Row right now in a massive drug bust
28 arrests expected. 44 search warrants. Large wads of cash, firearms, and fentanyI being seized on scene.
Drug dealers are also being accused of specifically targeting people on the days their government checks arrive (of course)
LONG overdue! Skid Row has been like a third world country for YEARS.
Devon Kurtz retweeted
🚨 BREAKING: Hundreds of federal agents -- FBI, DEA, ATF, U.S. Attorney's Office, and LAPD -- are SWARMING Skid Row right now in a massive drug bust
28 arrests expected. 44 search warrants. Large wads of cash, firearms, and fentanyI being seized on scene.
Drug dealers are also being accused of specifically targeting people on the days their government checks arrive (of course)
LONG overdue! Skid Row has been like a third world country for YEARS.
Devon Kurtz retweeted
A significant portion of the homeless and prison population suffer from severe mental illness. These people would benefit from the availability of proper treatment in our existing mental healthcare facilities.
That is why I introduced the IMD CARE Act today. This bill would result in an increased number of beds and treatment available for mentally ill people.
Without this improvement in how we deliver mental health services, those who need such treatment will continue to cost communities more in law enforcement and healthcare expenses. The circular progression of the mentally ill from the street to the hospital to the prison and back to the street must stop.
See the press release on my website below!
bentz.house.gov/media/press-…
