forward: SAFE, Inc. says Lane County "arbitrarily defunded"

[Public announcement list for Oregonians about human rights in the mental health system.]

A mental health consumer group claims, below, that Lane County, Oregon  
"arbitrarily defunded" their community center, which is entirely run  
by mental health consumers and psychiatric survivors.

The BELOW forwarded press release is from Drake Ewbank of SAFE, Inc.,  
based in Springfield, Oregon, USA. [The author is responsible for  
content, for more info contact SAFE, Inc., feel free to forward.]

~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: DRAKE EWBANK -- SAFE, INC. -- drake at efn.org
> Date: 15 September 2009 3:47:23 PM PDT
> Subject: Press Release
>
> LANE COUNTY HHS DIRECTOR MOVES TO STRIKE FATAL BLOW TO OREGON'S  
> OLDEST PEER RUN NON PROFIT, SAFE INC
>
> ***Lane County Oregon and LaneCare, Failing to Succeed in the  
> Courts, Illegally Pulls Funding for all SAFE Contracts To Insure the  
> Collapse of the Business before the matter can come before a Circuit  
> Court Judge***
>
> SAFE Incorporated, one of Oregon's longest surviving peer run non  
> profits, has been arbitrarily de-funded by Lane County Health and  
> Human services director, Rob Rockstroh.
>
> SAFE had managed to survive earlier County efforts to close them by  
> staying the County's actions in Court, though the County has just  
> suddenly, under Mr Rochstroh's direct authority, stopped issuing any  
> checks to the SAFE - this effectively destroying SAFE's financial  
> base and immediately throws 100 clients and 17 Peer Employees and  
> all professional and adminstrative staff out into the cold with no  
> services or jobs.
>
> SAFE maintains that this witholding of funds is a violation of the  
> contract currently still in place and otherwise can only be stopped  
> if SAFE goes to court to force payment before the entire  
> organization goes under.  'Because of the abruptness of this action,  
> there may not be time to legally stop this, even though the County  
> has never had to prove its allegations in Court' according to  
> members of the SAFE Board, 'unless the County relents.'
>
> County officials citing an emergency need to stem fraud at the  
> agency have yet to explain how this fact has suddenly come to light  
> when five previous site reviews failed to reveal anything of an  
> emergency nature, and the County itself has allowed SAFE to survive  
> for the entire year until invoking this emergency measure right at  
> the time that SAFE was to commence discovery in the lawsuit.
>
> The choice of the nuclear option continues the  continuing breach  
> of  promises Mr Rockstroh made at a public meeting on Feb 17, 2009  
> in front of State Senator Bill Morrisette, Eugene Mayor Kitty  
> Piercy, and almost other 70 people at the Eugene Public Library in  
> forum that was recorded for Community Television.  In that forum, Mr  
> Rockstroh promised to 'talk with SAFE and work it out and continue  
> the non-Medicaid drop in-center and services.'  Since then Mr  
> Rockstroh has failed to allow any communication from the County or  
> now has acted to end all contracts and eliminate the agency if  
> possible.
>
> SAFE welcomes all inquiries into the details of this, as well as  
> asks those that have an interest in the survival of peer services to  
> contact the County Commissioners, State agencies, and elected  
> representatives to insure a full examination of the matter and the  
> questionable actions of the County to destroy and extinguish one of  
> the few independent peer voices in the Medicaid provider system.

- end of SAFE, Inc. press release  -

SAFE, Inc. WEB SITE:

http://www.wonderland-safe.org/

SAFE, Inc. is a sponsor group in MindFreedom International Support  
Coalition.

See a theme?

Read this added note from MindFreedom International:

The State of Oregon is one of very few USA States to give zero (0) for  
the state-wide voice of mental health consumers and psychiatric  
survivors, for the past seven (7) years.

State of Oregon is also one of the few places in the whole world  
building BRAND NEW huge centralized psychiatric institutions with a  
half a billion ($500,000,000) in taxpayer money. During an economic  
crisis.

For more info about the "WHY ZERO?" campaign see:

http://www.mindfreedom.org/zero

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