I am a target in this system. And while I’m a celebrated cellist and Shasta Scout journalist, I don't think being shiny and well-liked will save me from forced institutionalization.
In this essay, Johnson reflects on the additional burdens the local justice system has inflicted on her already challenging circumstances. It’s only her strong support net, she argues, that keeps the system from unfairly labeling her as a criminal, driving her further into society’s margins.
Shasta County’s affordable housing and emergency shelter crisis has spurred serious community discussions about how to respond to the needs of the region’s growing unhoused community. Community Voices writer Alissa Johnson and others in the unhoused community respond to reader questions about the causes of homelessness and the solutions they'd like to see the community pursue.
Hailed by local musicians as a “genius,” Alissa Johnson is an accomplished cellist and an activist for the human rights of autistic people. She is also homeless. In this piece she argues that her dual experiences as an autistic, and being without shelter, have repeatedly exposed her to interwoven stigma. Supportive systems are needed, she says, not to “fix” people but to partner with them as unique human beings with vibrant dreams.
Until Dec. 31, all donations will be doubled, and new donations will be matched 12x.
Thanks for putting the COMMUNITY in community news.
