The Family of Rep. Renny Cushing, who died Monday, released this statement today.
“While we were honored to hear of the motion put forward by Wanda Duryea, Beatrice Coulter, and others to rename the Secure Psychiatric Unit in recognition of Renny Cushing, we would humbly request that the hospital not bear his name. Renny was a tireless advocate for treating people healing from mental illness with respect and dignity without criminalization. He was also humble, and saw himself as a voice for the people – he would not want to be singled out with this level of attention, but would instead want the focus to be on providing care.”