Mad Summit Targets Tipper Gore with photos by Tom Olin and an update on the May 2 meeting between the Gore campaign, Justin Dart, Jr., and Mad Summiteers and a link to a website where there's a good white paper on "mental health."	Two people seated by an easel, taking part in an active discussion. They don't LOOK crazy. "We will not tolerate forcible treatment."
"...to build a mental health system that is based upon the principle of self-determination, on a belief in our ability to recover, and on our right to define what recovery is and how best to achieve it."	The Highlander Center, Tennessee, mid-March 2000 Thirty people who share a history of working for human rights in mental health gathered at the Highlander Center in Tennessee in mid-March. That center has been a strategic hub for organizers in civil rights since the days of Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks. The event was sponsored by Support Coalition, International, of which Mouth magazine is a member. The Highlander Statement calls for "all people committed to human rights to work together to build a mental health system that is based upon the principle of self-determination, on a belief in our ability to recover, and on our right to define what recovery is and how best to achieve it." "Because Tipper Gore has made mental health her 'special' issue," and because, the Mad Summit said, "she has shown... that she does not respect our right to speak for ourselves, we will demonstrate at her public appearances to make clear that millions of American citizens... will not tolerate being marginalized, scapegoated, demonized and subjected to increasing amounts of forcible treatment." The Mad Summit plans to convene again next year at Highlander. Meanwhile, the whole Mad Nation hopes you'll join in their resistance to forced treatment, and their targeting of Tipper.
Participants at the meeting with the Gore staff:   Laurie Ahern Director National Empowerment Center Lawrence, Massachusetts Michael Allen Staff Attorney Bazelon Center Washington, DC Ron Bassman, PhD President National Association for Rights Protection & Advocacy Albany, NY Marca Bristo Chairperson National Council on Disability Washington, DC   Ted Chabasinski President Support Coalition International Attorney Mental Health Consumer Concerns Berkeley, CA Judi Chamberlin National Empowerment Center Lawrence, Massachusetts Justin W. Dart, Jr. Justice For All Washington, DC Dan Fisher, MD National Empowerment Center Lawrence, Massachusetts Janet Foner co-coordinator Support Coalition International New Cumberland, Pennsylvania Loren Mosher, MD Soteria Associates Mental Health Services San Diego, CA David Oaks co-coordinator Support Coalition International Eugene, Oregon Tom Olin Disability Rights Center Washington, DC Larry Plumlee, MD National Capital Area Advocates Bethesda, Maryland Jeff Rosen Staff Attorney National Council on Disability Washington, DC Rae Unzicker NCD and NARPA Sioux Falls, SD	Update, with reporting by Fred Fay, Chairman, Justice For All On Tuesday, May 2 a group representing millions of people with psychiatric disabilities met in the White House with Lisa Brown, General Counsel to Vice President Gore, and Trooper Sanders, Assistant to Mrs. Gore. This meeting was arranged by David Oaks and Janet Foner of Support Coalition International and Justin Dart of Justice For All. The purpose of the meeting was to convey to the Vice President and Mrs. Gore the civil rights aspect of "mental health" - the necessity to eliminate the devastating discrimination suffered by people with psychiatric disabilities and psychiatric survivors. The Gores were urged to take a public stand against involuntary confinement, abuse, coercion, forced treatment and discrimination of any kind. National Council Chair Marca Bristo presented her agency's landmark report: "From Privileges to Rights: People Labeled with Psychiatric Disabilities Speak for Themselves." Other prominent participants included Judi Chamberlin and Ron Bassman. Following are a writing which the group presented to Lisa Brown, and remarks by Justin Dart. A list of members of the delegation appears in the column at left. --- Requests to Vice President and Mrs. Gore We urgently request a personal meeting with both the Vice President and Mrs. Gore, to discuss our human rights concerns about individuals diagnosed with psychiatric disabilities. We ask for an initial meeting with our organizational leadership, and a later more open meeting with a wider gathering of psychiatric survivors and allies. We call for recognition and endorsement by the Vice President and Mrs. Gore -- and the current administration -- of the President's National Council on Disability report, "From Privileges to Rights: People Labeled with Psychiatric Disabilities Speak for Themselves," including its ten core recommendations. Specifically, we request a signal as soon as possible from both the Vice President and Mrs. Gore that they publicly affirm the following points based upon the first three core recommendations in the NCD report.  1. We ask that the Vice President and Mrs. Gore stand with us to oppose the rise of involuntary psychiatric treatments such as forced drugging and inpatient and outpatient commitment, and instead endorse a public policy direction toward a totally-voluntary community-based mental health system. FROM THE NCD REPORT CORE RECOMMENDATION ONE: "Laws that allow the use of involuntary treatments such as forced drugging and inpatient and outpatient commitment should be viewed as inherently suspect, because they are incompatible with the principle of self-determination. Public policy needs to move in the direction of a totally voluntary community-based mental health system that safeguards human dignity and respects individual autonomy."  2. We seek a commitment that a Gore Administration would continue the inclusion on the National Council on Disability a psychiatric survivor who concurs with the report's recommendations.  FROM THE NCD REPORT CORE RECOMMENDATION TWO: "People labeled with psychiatric disabilities should have a major role in the direction and control of programs and services designed for their benefit. This central role must be played by people labeled with psychiatric disabilities themselves, and should not be confused with the roles that family members, professional advocates, and others often play when 'consumer' input is sought." 3. We call on both the Vice President and Mrs. Gore to stand with us in opposition to electroconvulsive therapy, also known as electroshock or E C T.  FROM THE NCD REPORT CORE RECOMMENDATION THREE: "Mental health treatment should be about healing, not punishment. Accordingly, the use of aversive treatments, including physical and chemical restraints, seclusion, and similar techniques that restrict freedom of movement, should be banned. Also, public policy should move toward the elimination of electroconvulsive therapy and psychosurgery as unproven and inherently inhumane procedures. Effective humane alternatives to these techniques exist now and should be promoted."     Excerpts from Remarks by Justin Dart  My mother, an award-winning author, took her own life because of her terror of forced treatment and stigma. I congratulate the Vice President, Mrs. Gore, Lisa Brown, Trooper Sanders and Lon Sorensen on this landmark gathering. This is democracy at its best. This is an example of why I, a Republican, am a maximum supporter of Al Gore.  I'm so proud to be here today with a delegation of distinguished advocates representing millions of people with psychiatric disabilities and psychiatric survivors who suffer the most devastating discrimination in our culture.  My colleagues and I bring a message which has not often been heard in the mainstream public dialogue on psychiatric disability. The time has come to stop involuntary confinement, physical and psychological abuse, coercion and forced treatment of people with psychiatric disabilities. The time has come to eliminate the massive public and media discrimination against people labeled mentally ill. ------ jfa@jfanow.org http://www.jfanow.org
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Great new link:	Mouth's great investigative-journalist friend, George Mentes, has published a white paper on Involuntary Outpatient Commitment (or, as it's known in Canada, the Community Treatment Order). Find out why IOC or CTO is a scary, wrong-headed idea.
Tom Olin, who took all three photos above -- the one of Justin is from an earlier public appearance -- sells his photos for use by people and organizations in the disability rights movement. Click here to send photographer Tom Olin an email.	TOP OF PAGE  | HOME | ABOUT MOUTH | | SUBSCRIBE |	Link to this issue in our online Attitude Catalog Store.    Back to Mouth #59