Mark Gale has served as the volunteer criminal justice chair for the National Alli-ance on Mental Illness Greater LA County (NAMI GLAC) for the last 21 years. His advocacy journey began when his son, who has a mental illness disorder, was arrested and jailed 21 years ago. Since 2002 he has volunteered an average of 30 hours a month advocating for the decriminalization of people with serious mental illness. Gale oversees NAMI GLAC’s mission, guided by the belief that persons who have committed offenses due to states of mind or behavior caused by a serious mental illness do not belong in penal or correctional institutions. Such persons require treatment, not pun-ishment and should be transferred to a therapeutic setting as appropriate. Gale leads a criminal justice committee that meets once a month and has grown to over 30 members strong. He motivates, educates and inspires others to advocate for fami-lies and diversion programs in LA County. Through his own education and advocacy, he has built expertise in the criminal justice mental health space and is recognized and. Gale has represented NAMI GLAC on the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Criminal Justice Mental Health Advisory board, serves as a member of the permanent steering committee of the Office of Diversion and Reentry and is an original member of LA County Mental Health Commission’s assisted outpatient treatment oversight commit-tee. He has been an active participant in the Alternatives to Incarceration Initiative and the county’s Care First, Jail Last strategy.
