Picket Planned for University of California Symposium

The California Network of Mental Health Clients plans an informational picket of a University of California symposium on crafting mental health policy, Saturday, January 12, 2002, 8 am to 6 pm.

The picket will be in both Berkeley and Los Angeles.

Sally Zinman, Executive Director of CNMHC, said the primary purpose of the picket is to object to "the apparent exclusion of mental health consumers in the development, audience and presentations, at all levels, of the Symposium."

Funding for the symposium includes grants from psychiatric drug corporations Pfizer, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company,

BELOW is a statement from Sally Zinman.

AT BOTTOM is an alert put out yesterday so that people from anywhere in the world can e-mail their objections to the symposium organizer. Please keep complaints civil.

PLEASE COPY YOUR E-MAILS OF CONCERN TO CNMHC AT: <main@cnmhc.com>. THANKS to the many people who have already e-mailed in your concerns!

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January 4, 2002 STATEMENT

FROM SALLY ZINMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 
CALIFORNIA NETWORK OF MENTAL HEALTH CLIENTS

At this point of time, the California Network of Mental Health Clients is planning to picket the upcoming U C Berkeley Symposium, "Coping with Mental Illness and Crafting Public Policy." It will be an informational picket, not a rally.

The Symposium is being held on Saturday, January 12, 2002, 8 AM - 6 PM.

The event is being held at both Wheeler Auditorium, UC-Berkeley and Center for Health Sciences Room 63-105, UCLA.

The pickets will be simultaneous at the UCLA and UC Berkeley sites.

Our reasons are twofold.

1. Primarily, the apparent exclusion of mental health consumers in the development, audience and presentations, at all levels, of the Symposium. "Best practices", which the Symposium says its is addressing, means involving people most affected by a problem in policy making and decisions regarding the problem, Can you imagine holding a symposium on issues about physical disabilities without the involvement of people with physical disabilities? "Nothing About Us, Without Us." This - by all evidence - is about us, without us. It is unacceptable, in the year 2002, given the history of recommended and required involvement of mental health clients in systemic and individual mental health decisions, to have a major public policy event without including people with mental disabilities.  
   
2. The Symposium's bias toward the clinical as opposed to rehabilitative, force instead of voluntary, of the material and presenters. There is no client advocacy voice - direct client or otherwise - present. The University is a public institution and as such should present public policy in a balanced way.

Discussions are ongoing with the University for meaningful involvement of people with mental disabilities in the event.

From: Sally Zinman <Szinman@aol.com> 
CNMHC phone: (916) 443-3232 or 1-800-626-7447 
fax: (916) 443-4089 
e-mail: main@cnmhc.com 
web: http://www.cnmhc.org/ 

- end of statement -

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ALERT - January 3, 2002

from http://MindFreedom.org

CRAFTING "MENTAL HEALTH" PUBLIC POLICY...

WHILE IGNORING PSYCHIATRIC SURVIVORS AND HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES

"NOTHING ABOUT US, WITHOUT US?"

ACTION: E-MAIL ORGANIZER OF SYMPOSIUM

BERKELEY, CALIF.: A university is holding a symposium on crafting policy on "mental health," but they apparently forgot to include representatives of those on the receiving end of that "treatment," and those who are critical of the system's human rights violations.

Won't you help this university enter the 21st century?

California resident and psychiatric survivor Sylvia Caras sylvia@peoplewho.org  suggested via her e-mail list that people take action, by e-mailing to the organizer, Bruce Cain, PhD., Director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

ACTION:

E-MAIL THE ORGANIZER OF THIS EVENT AT: bruce@cain.berkeley.edu 

COPY YOUR E-MAIL OF CONCERN TO CNMHC AT: main@cnmhc.com 

Suggests Sylvia, "Email with your comments about this program... about us, without us." The topic is, "Coping with mental illness and crafting public policy."

The all-day symposium is being held on Saturday, January 12, 2002, at Berkeley's Wheeler Auditorium, from 8 am to 6 pm.

The speakers are from the psychiatric establishment -- including extremist assemblyperson Helen Thomson who is the main pusher of more forced psychiatry.

You can view the program here: 

http://mentalhealthpolicy.berkeley.edu/program.html

And of course, if anyone is organizing a last minute nonviolent protest of the event, let Support Coalition know, and we'll get out the word! It's $50 for the public to attend: http://mentalhealthpolicy.berkeley.edu/ 

- end -

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Please help re-distribute this alert, especially to

people in the Bay Area.

DISTRIBUTED BY:

David Oaks, Director

Support Coalition International

454 Willamette, Suite 216

PO Box 11284

Eugene, OR 97440-3484 USA

e-mail: oaks@mindfreedom.org

web: http://www.MindFreedom.org

phone: (541) 345-9106

toll free in USA: 1-877-MAD-PRIDE

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