Can you ask Oregon's Governor: Why Zero for Voice of Mental Health Clients?

Tue May 6 11:36:22 PDT 2008

Hi,

Can I ask for your help to show there is national and international  
concern about the mental health system in the State of Oregon in the  
USA?

Oregon's Governor Kulongoski budgeted zero [0] for the state-wide  
voice of Oregon's mental health clients for five years.

At the same time Oregon is one of the very few USA states building  
brand new huge psychiatric institutions.

The Governor found half a billion ($500,000,000) for bricks and  
mortar for new psychiatric institutions.

But not a dime for the voice of mental health clients. Again and again.

Please take a moment to show there is international concern.

*BELOW* is a letter to the editor by me that was published today, 6  
May 2008, in Eugene, Oregon's daily newspaper, _The Register-Guard_.

Please read my brief letter.

And then ask Governor Kulongoski in a civil way:

    "Why Zero?"

Easy ways to ask the Governor via the web are here:

http://www.mindfreedom.org/zero

Or see links at the bottom of this alert.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LETTER TO EDITOR - Published 6 May 2008 in The Register-Guard,  
Eugene, Oregon, USA:

The Register-Guard’s recent guest viewpoints and letters about humane  
alternatives in mental health are appreciated. This community  
dialogue is healing and necessary.

I’ve studied the history of the mental health system over the  
centuries. Minor reform is not enough. Reform often results in more  
money for more of the same. One step to deeper change is to start to  
listen to the diverse perspectives of mental health consumers,  
psychiatric survivors and their organizations.

Most of the states support the statewide voice of mental health  
clients in some way, even if small. Most states fund an office of  
mental health consumer affairs, a statewide conference or a  
newsletter to support the empowerment of our citizens who are  
diagnosed with psychiatric disabilities. Many leaders in Oregon’s  
mental health system and Legislature endorse this common sense idea.

Our advocacy group concludes that a top obstacle to real change in  
Oregon’s mental health system is in the office of Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

Since Kulongoski took office, his budget item for the statewide voice  
of mental health clients has been eliminated. The governor has  
continued to recommend that this funding stay at zero, even while he  
raised about half a billion dollars to build huge new psychiatric  
institutions.

Now I hear Kulongoski say that as a superdelegate he may override the  
majority of Democratic voters in Oregon’s May 20 presidential  
primary. Is there a pattern here of the governor squelching the  
voices of Oregonians? Let’s all ask him.

David W. Oaks

Executive director

MindFreedom International

Eugene, Oregon, USA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    * ACT NOW * ACT NOW * ACT NOW *

Two easy actions you can take to ask "Why Zero?"

Encourage funding Oregon's state-wide voice of mental health clients  
in your own words!

1) ASK OREGON'S GOVERNOR!

Just use Governor Kulongoski's web contact page here to send e-mail,  
phone or postal mail:

http://www.governor.state.or.us/Gov/contact_us.shtml

2) COMMENT ON OREGON'S BUDGET!

The Governor's Department of Human Services is asking for public  
input *now* about their next budget!

E-mail your comment here:

dhs.budget-input at state.or.us

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more info on the "Why Zero" campaign and a sample message go here:

http://www.mindfreedom.org/zero

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PLEASE FORWARD this important alert to all appropriate places on and  
off the Internet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More info on MindFreedom International see:

http://www.mindfreedom.org

For info on MindFreedom Oregon activities see:

http://www.mindfreedom.org/as/act/us/or

For a limited time, join MindFreedom and your gift will be matched by  
Oregon's Helios Resource Network! See:

http://www.mindfreedom.org/double

Support MindFreedom by getting hard-to-find books & DVD's on changing  
the mental health system here:

http://www.madmarket.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you!

David

David W. Oaks, Executive Director
MindFreedom International
454 Willamette, Suite 216 - POB 11284
Eugene, OR 97440-3484 USA

web: http://www.mindfreedom.org
email: oaks at mindfreedom.org
office phone: (541) 345-9106
fax: (541) 345-3737
member services toll free in USA: 1-877-MAD-PRID[e] or 1-877-623-7743

United Independent Action for Human Rights in Mental Health!

MindFreedom International is an non-profit coalition with a vision of  
a non-violent revolution in mental health. Accredited by the United  
Nations as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with Consultative  
Roster Status.

Join now! http://www.mindfreedom.org/join-donate

"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.