On November 15th, the Milwaukee Mental Health Taskforce will present the Marie C. Perry Rising Leader Award to Attorney Katie Holtz, who heads up the mental health unit of the SPD’s Milwaukee trial office. The Taskforce press release describes just what a tour de force our colleague is!
Katie is a champion for the rights of people with mental illness and/or disabilities and gives strength to the consumer voice in the court system and community. During the pandemic, she took a lead role in collaborating with mental health stakeholders to ensure the rights of individuals in Chapter 51 proceedings, that hearings were held on time, and that clients had the opportunity to talk with their lawyers, amidst the uncertainty that enveloped all of us.
Katie pours her heart into a client’s story and case. She takes her passionate stories to the frontlines and makes people listen–judges, commissioners, adversary counsels, doctors, social workers, advocates, politicians, and community members. Katie holds everyone accountable to ensure clients’ rights and freedoms are protected and she does not take “no” for an answer. She does this because she knows from her experience and interactions with her child and adult clients that being in a mental health hospital is frightening and traumatizing and patients are entitled to extra care and compassion.
The Taskforce will present the award during its Karen Avery Zoom forum on “Empowering Families: Peer and Community Mental Health Support for Child Welfare Involved Parents and Families.” The forum runs from 2:00 to 4:30 on Tuesday, November 15th. Anyone can drop in! For more information on the forum agenda and how to attend it click here. Congratulations, Katie!
Congratulations Katie!