Amanda Rabb, Star of "Soft White Underbelly" Lives On.

"Soft White Underbelly" star, Amanda Rabb dies at age 25.

Rabb was first introduced to the world on a YouTube series called "Soft White Underbelly", produced by Mark Laita. The series uncovers the lives of prostitutes, survivors of sex crimes, violence and incest, pimps, gang members, the marginalized, addicts and the like in an intimate discussion where the producer (Laita) allows these individuals to share there their unfiltered stories and experiences. Rabb's story was one of many to be featured in the series and included repeat interviews that followed her journey of addiction and recovery.

The Inglewood (CA) native (Rabb) first appeared in the "Soft White Underbelly" series, December 2019. In Rabb's first video interview she talks about her life as a prostitute working on Skid Row. Rabb starts off the interview discussing her childhood as being a typical upbringing aside from her mother not raising her due to drug addiction. Rabb was raised by her father Larry Rabb, who was introduced later in the series as a supportive parent who had a close relationship with his daughter and was struggling to help her.

Rabb goes on to reveal in the series that she had an addiction to crack that developed while she attended California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Along with her addiction Rabb had a diagnosis of Schizophrenia and may have been using crack as a means to cope with the symptoms of her diagnosis (It is believed Rabb's mother may have suffered from mental illness as well). Throughout the series the audience witnesses the lows of Rabb's addiction and the ravishing effects it had on her body as well as the highs and lows of her Schizophrenia diagnosis. Rabb appeared many times on camera not at base and high as she described "robots" controlling her mind and thoughts.

Many viewers expressed their concern for Rabb's well being, particularly after she had been hospitalized and returned to Laita's studio with nearly an entire front row of upper teeth missing and could not recall what happened to her; She had even been hit by a car which resulted in a leg injury. Rabb's father (Larry) struggled to see his daughter in this condition and in a heart breaking interview admitted to not even recognizing his own daughter one day in passing while on public transportation.

Larry Rabb attempted many times to help his daughter and producer Laita often encouraged Rabb to seek help for herself. Rabb (Larry) and Laita teamed together after their individual efforts proved not to be enough. The pair attempted many times to get Rabb into treatment but she often refused or her father's efforts were pushed back by treatment centers that argued Rabb was an adult and could not be forced into treatment despite the decline of her mental state and inability to advocate for herself or make decisions for her own health and safety.

In the state of California there are mandatory treatment laws or civil commitment laws known as Laura's Law that decide when involuntary treatment for addiction (also known as “court-ordered treatment”) is appropriate for individuals with severe mental illness who are unable to seek treatment voluntarily. "Laura's Law provides community-based, assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) to a small population of individuals who meet strict legal criteria and who – as a result of their mental illness – are unable to voluntarily access community mental health services", according to the Treatment Advocacy Center's website (www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org). In Rabb's case there was no initial court order which undoubtedly would have hindered her father's efforts to get her into treatment despite her mental state.

Although Laura's Law could not be applied to Rabb's case, her father would have been able to apply to become her power of attorney (POA) to act on her behalf. Each state has its own rules when it comes to a POA. According to Legalzoom.com, California recognizes five types of POA's: general, durable, springing, limited, and medical- (https://info.legalzoom.com/article/power-attorney-rules-california). A medical POA allows an individual to assign an agent to make healthcare decisions for them, in the event they cannot make them on their own. In order for a medical POA to be valid in California, the principal must be an adult (over the age of 18), who is legally competent to enter into a contract and must be signed in the presence of two witnesses.

In Larry Rabb and Mark Laita's efforts to find Amanda Rabb help they connected with Lima Jevremović from AURA. AURA is a digital health platform with a mission is to "reduce relapse and ensure life-long recovery for patients that seek mental/behavioral and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment" (https://www.meetaura.io/about-us). Jevremović did attempt to support Rabb's father in gaining POA after first trying to obtain conservatorship over Amanda. In the state of California a conservator is appointed to adults deemed incompetent to manage their care or estate. Obtaining this conservatorship and POA became a difficult task for Larry Rabb and Jevremović after Amanda Rabb was jailed for some infringement of the law. This incident inherently opened up the door for Rabb's father and Jevremović to advocate for involuntary treatment. Their request was granted by the court and Laura's Law was applied to Amanda Rabb's case.

Once treatment was made mandatory by the court, Rabb's recovery began. Rabb continued to do follow up interviews with Laita following her time in jail and during treatment. Viewers began to see Rabb's gradual recovery process. Rabb was candid about her recovery experience, sharing with viewers that she still had [very strong cravings] for crack. As time progressed Rabb shared that her "cravings" were fading and that she was very happy to be in treatment. Rabb's life began to flourish and Mark Laita captured her new life on camera. Amanda Rabb no longer rambled or spoke of robots controlling her mind and thoughts; Rabb was now coherent, excited about recovery and her new life.

Amanda Rabb's last appearance on the Soft White Underbelly was April 8th, 2021; she anticipating discharge from rehab as she was only a couple months away from completing treatment. Mother's Day, May 9th, 2021; a month later Rabb was found unresponsive in her bed (at the recovery house) and declared dead. Her death was just as much as a shock to her father, Jevremović and Laita as it was to her viewers.

In a follow up interview with her father and Jevremović following her passing, the two explained her death was sudden and was the result of trauma to her brain caused by her previous use of crack. A toxicology report confirmed she had no drugs in her system when she passed.

Amanda Rabb's journey inspired her viewer's from her first interview until her last. Her story continues to inspire and is still available to watch on Mark Laita's YouTube channel "Soft White Underbelly" (see link https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBEIBBdgAOAoTfxs3dbbBIwM3FR7vNJQA).

For more information on substance abuse and mental health services visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA's) website at www.samhsa.gov or call SAMHSA’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357).