Wider Sale Is Seen for Toothpaste Tainted in China

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After federal health officials discovered last month that tainted Chinese toothpaste had entered the United States, they warned that it would most likely be found in discount stores.

In fact, the toothpaste has been distributed much more widely. Roughly 900,000 tubes containing a poison used in some antifreeze products have turned up in hospitals for the mentally ill, prisons, juvenile detention centers and even some hospitals serving the general population.

The toothpaste was handed out in dozens of state institutions, mostly in Georgia but also in North Carolina, according to state officials. Hospitals in South Carolina and Florida also reported receiving Chinese-made toothpaste, and a major national pharmaceutical distributor said it was recalling tainted Chinese toothpaste.

Connecting Tags; rights, economics, institutions, fan-the-flame, copower, prosynergy

Mind Freedom news

Click the full text link:

MindFreedom International News - July 2007
http://www.mindfreedom.org - please forward

Mad Pride '07 is well underway!

by Krista Erickson, chair, MFI Mad Pride Chair

July is Mad Pride month! Join in! Celebrate the right to be different
and the psychiatric survivor movement.

A link to a complete, updated listing of Mad Pride 2007 events known
to us is online at:

www.mindfreedom.org/campaign/madpride

A few highlights of events include:

-- BonkersFest was celebrated in June in England with Mad Pride
events planned from now until early October. A cannon launch of
bananas kicked off Mad Pride 2007 at this popular music event! See
the photo.

-- The Great Escape Bed Push. For the third year, activists in
England will symbolically escape psychiatric institutions, dressed in
pajamas and 'hot tail' it with a psychiatric bed to a place of safety
and celebration while raising awareness about the over-use of forced
treatments in mental health services and the need for holistic choice
based services.

-- This year the Great Escape Bed Push goes international with bed
pushes scheduled in Canada and the US to celebrate Mad Pride. Next
year? How about your home town?

-- The first-ever Mad Pride parade in Belgium.

-- Another great street march and ot

Doctors Are Prejudiced Against Patients With Mental Health Disorders

People who are ill and have psychiatric disorders are not treated as effectively by doctors compared to those who have no mental health problems.

Dr Alex Mitchell, a consultant psychiatrist, and Dr Darren Malone, a specialist registrar in psychiatry, who work at the Department of Liaison Psychiatry at Leicester General Hospital, reviewed a number of studies focussing on preventative and physical care of patients with and without mental illness.

They looked at screening for cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, HIV and cervical and breast cancer and treatment for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, HIV and cancer care.

Unveiling their findings to the annual meeting, they found that of the 14 studies which looked at health screening, 12 suggested inferior quality of care. Of the 23 studies comparing care for patients with and without mental illness 14 suggested poor quality of care when it came to recommending drug treatment, diagnostic and investigative procedures and surgical interventions.

Connecting Tags; Recovery, stigma, fan-the-flame, copower, prosynergy

Michigan's Searchable Prescription Price Web Site Expands To 150 Drugs

The Michigan Department of Community Health on Thursday announced that it will add the information on an additional 120 prescription drugs to a state-run Web site that allows consumers to search drug prices, the AP/Detroit News reports. Users can search the site -- michigandrugprices.com -- by ZIP code and pharmacy. The site previously had listed price information for 30 drugs. New features on the site will allow users to find driving directions to pharmacies and file complaints with the state when they find inaccurate information or suspect price gouging.

In May, state Attorney General Mike Cox (R) criticized the health department for excluding the 120 drugs from the site. Cox had conducted surveys that showed wide disparities in prices for the same drugs at pharmacies "just miles apart," the AP/News reports.

Health department Director Janet Olszewski said, "We believe the increased utility of the state's Web site will give citizens the access they deserve and the ability to save thousands of dollars on their prescription drugs per year." She added, "We want citizens to have the ability to report possible prescription drug pricing inaccuracies as soon as possible, since prescription drug prices can vary daily" (AP/Detroit News, 6/14).

Connecting Tags; Medicare, economics, tool, fan-the-flame, copower, prosynergy

Disabled entrapped by ID rules

A week after his first birthday, Bobby Hartwell's parents dropped him off at the Colorado State Home and Training School for Mental Defectives northwest of Denver.

He never saw them again.

For the next 30 years, Hartwell, who has cerebral palsy and mental retardation, lived at the school and at a nursing home. In 1980, Wade Blank, a preacher and activist for the disabled, got Hartwell out, helped him get public assistance and a home, and taught him to live on his own.

Now, at 57, Hartwell may lose it all, starting with his apartment - because he can't prove he's a U.S. citizen.

Hartwell's dilemma is the result of new rules - a 2006 Colorado law, federal requirements in the 2006 Deficit Reduction Act, and 2004 homeland security legislation - aimed at thwarting terrorists and barring public benefits for undocumented residents.

Connecting Tags; institutions, rights, fan-the-flame, copower, prosynergy

Jailed mentally ill have nowhere to turn, report finds

LANSING -- If you're mentally ill, break the law and end up in your local county jail, chances are you'll not only be unable to get the mental health services guaranteed by Michigan law, but even the state's watchdog system won't be able to help you.

Those are the findings of a report to be released Monday by Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service Inc., which is charged with safeguarding the rights of people with disabilities.

Connecting Tags; institutions, rights, abuse, fan-the-flame, copower, prosynergy

A New Dawn

from Gerald Butler

6/16/2007

Another successful ‘Empowerment Day’ has come and gone and it just keeps getting better. The ‘Matrix Theatre’ is a group of MI, DD, and SA consumers known Nationwide, who puts on plays about their experiences in the system. They spoke a little about their efforts and offered discounts to Clubhouses and Drop In Centers to attend their plays. Veda Sharp, (D-WCCMHA, Deputy Director) spoke on the Agency’s support and dedication to the advancement of the Peer Support Movement. Living independently is something that must be prepared for, and Yuself Seegars (Disability Network) presented on the importance of, and how to have all mechanisms in place prior to taking that step towards independent living.

The ‘Silo Effect’ is when treatment organizations confine themselves to one building and consumers must go there to access whatever recovery tools are being offered. However, under a transformed system, organizations ‘Must be willing to meet the consumer wherever they are”. This requires having easily accessible ‘Community Based & Consumer Operated’ satellite facilities that provide (either directly or through referrals) the community trouble free access to the system. In 2003 The ‘Detroit Recovery Project’ opened ‘The Welcome Center’ in a home on East Grand Boulevard, and in 2006 opened the ‘Relapse Prevention Center’ in Highland Park. Andre Johnson (Bureau of Substance Abuse) the brains and energy behind this community collaborative spoke and I am proud to say that his dreams of a recovering community, are the exact same as ours.

Over the past year Dr. Harriett Green (Medical Director- BHPI) has been doing an in depth study of the Peer Support Manual from an administrative point of view. She presented “The Role of Peer Support in System Transformation”. Dr. Green has demonstrated a willingness to go where we are, listening with an open mind to our wishes, hopes, and grievances. She has compiled a practical, easy to follow method of how Peer Support can fit smoothly into current systems of treatment and recovery, based on Federal recommendations. Shirley Cockrell (Free Press, May 8^th) the Director of the Go-Getters Drop In Center gave us “A Consumer Perspective”. She spoke of her years dealing with Co-Occurring disease, and of her ‘Epiphany’ in 1993, and the realization that she alone had control over her life. Shirley has devoted her entire life to helping others, and she does the Peer Movement proud.

Gabriel Williams and Tom Burden both gave “from the heart” talks on “What Peer Support Means to Me”. True Peer Support is something that comes from the heart, and not all who are Certified Peer Support Specialists are true Peer Supporters. If it were possible to choose the top 5 true Peer Support Specialists in the State, Joe Hodge’s name would be among them. Mr. Hodge told us how he was recently let go from work due to administrative issues, and wound up at Detroit East. If you recall, Detroit East sponsored the first Empowerment Day, and has consistently demonstrated support for the Peer Movement. Both Detroit East and Joe come out winners, and it is going to be interesting to see how much progress they will have made a year from now.

I am told the consumer band ‘Recovery’ did great; my problem is that when I am blowing my horn, I have a tendency to be so involved that I miss out on some valuable audience feedback. However, I shall be eternally grateful to Clifford and Lamasa Pace for letting me be a part of making their hopes and dreams become a reality. Henceforth, if anyone asks me what the end product of Peer Support looks like, I have only to point to them.

Spirituality in Recovery

When I first met Andria Jackson, we were on our way to the first training at Higgins Lake, and I don’t think she said more than five words during the trip. When I asked her to speak for this conference, I told her to just speak from the heart. For some reason I knew she had something valuable to say. Not in my wildest imagination did I think she was going to be as impressive as she was. As she spoke it became clear to me what is meant when people say the ‘Holy Spirit’ was working through a person. Andria has suffered a lot, and at the conference she turned all that suffering into positive energy that flowed like nectar, quenching the thirst of those needing validation, the consumers.

We are not guaranteed success in recovery, nor is there certainty that we will ever get into the right program that fits are particular needs. There are no assurances that anyone will even care about our plight. The one thing that is absolute is this: someone in a position of authority, (through either lack of knowledge, insensitivity, or just not caring) will hurt us. Thus, when the system encounters someone who is serious about their recovery, you can bet that person has had many disappointments and setbacks. ‘No Atheists in Trenches’, ‘Whatever does not kill you, makes you stronger’ are adages pointing out that through suffering, people become stronger. The good part is that he or she also learned some valuable insight into the entire recovery process that need be shared with anyone wise enough to listen.

While organizing the first Peer Support training for the State of Michigan, Mary Beth Evans (Peer Support Statewide Coordinator) was with child and due almost any day. Yet she kept right on working, even sacrificing her time with her husband and two children to assure the training ran smoothly, and she never complained. I am certain that had she not done what she did, the movement would not be where it is today. Thus you can tell a true Peer Supporter when he/she exhibits some of the same attitudes as Mary Beth which are: humility, an honest and pure love for others, a willingness to put ones own issues aside to help another, and under no circumstances be willing to consciously hurt another consumer. If you do not see these traits, that person is a Peer Supporter in name only.

Yes, the Peer Support Freedom Train has left the station taking us to a better day where we will be appreciated not on the basis of how many administrators we have pleased, but for how many others we have helped. We will be honored for the suffering we have endured, and our desire to willingly go back into the fray to save our brothers and sisters going through what we went through. Our values of, integrity, honesty, compassion, trust, and humility, will be our hallmark. I apologize to those not mentioned in this letter, James Child Savior, Genevieve Clark, James Lindsey, and the folks from ‘Micro Enterprise’, as their contributions were just as vital as everyone else. I have a good feeling that next years Empowerment Day will be even better.

Gerald Butler

CPSS

Advocate

Connecting Tags; Recovery, fan-the-flame, copower, prosynergy

Rae Unzicker Poem

from Tracy Madden

To Be a Mental Patient

To be a mental patient is to be stigmatized, ostracized, socialized, patronized and psychiatrized.

To be a mental patient is to have everyone controlling your life but you. You're watched by your shrink, your social worker, your friends, your family. And then you're diagnosed as paranoid.

To be a mental patient is to live with the constant threat and possibility of being locked up at any time, for almost any reason.

To be a mental patient is to live on $82 a month in food stamps, which won't let you buy Kleenex to dry your tears. And to watch your shrink come back to his office from lunch, driving a Mercedes Benz.

To be a mental patient is to take drugs that dull your mind, deaden your senses, make you jitter and drool and then you take more drugs to lessen the "side effects."

To be a mental patient is to apply for jobs and lie about the last few months or years, because you've been in the hospital, and then you don't get the job anyway because you're a mental patient. To be a mental patient is not to matter.

To be a mental patient is never to be taken seriously.

To be a mental patient is to be a resident of a ghetto, surrounded by other mental patients
who are as scared and hungry and bored and broke as you are.

To be a mental patient is to watch TV and see how violent and dangerous and dumb and incompetent and crazy you are.

To be a mental patient is to be a statistic.

To be a mental patient is to wear a label, a label that never goes away,
a label that says little about what you are and even less about who you are.

To be a mental patient is to never to say what you mean, but to sound like you mean what you say.

To be a mental patient is to tell your psychiatrist he's helping you, even if he’s not.

To be a mental patient is to act glad when you're sad and calm when you're mad,
and to always be "appropriate."

To be a mental patient is to participate in stupid groups that call themselves therapy.
Music isn't music, its therapy; volleyball isn't sport, it's therapy; sewing is therapy; washing dishes is therapy. Even the air you breathe is therapy and that's called "the milieu."

To be a mental patient is not to die, even if you want to -- and not cry, and not hurt, and not be scared,
and not be angry, and not be vulnerable, and not to laugh too loudly -- because, if you do, you only prove that you are a mental patient even if you are not.

And so you become a no-thing, in a no-world, and you are not.

Rae Unzicker © 1984

Connecting Tags; Recovery, stigma, abuse, fan-the-flame, copower, prosynergy

The Freedom Train

from Gerald Butler

The Freedom Train

The Peer Support ‘Freedom Train’ will arrive at the Samaritan Center on Friday at 7:30 AM and leave at 9:00. Rules for boarding are as follows.

1. Strong belief in people’s ability to recover.

2. Big, selfish egos will not be allowed on board

3. Willingness to listen to new ideas, and values.

4. Desire to take leadership role in ‘System Transformation’.

Due to the train being updated on a daily basis, and the amount of those wishing to board, it is suggested that all wishing to board, do so at this junction.

Connecting Tags; Recovery, fan-the-flame, copower, prosynergy

Update of Empowerment Day

from Gerald Butler

June 9, 2007

“Lord, may those who love you, rise like the sun in all its glory”

Other than being a part of the birth of my daughter, I have never felt a closer relationship to God than I do when practicing Peer Support. Through my work with the consumer band, I am realizing that no one can direct another person’s recovery. As a Peer Supporter I provide, encouragement, hope, empathy, and many other basic humane traits, and in return I get the same back from those I am working with. To some these may seem as if these principals are based on religion, but actually the idea that humans have a spiritual nature can be found in, philosophy, psychiatry, medicine, and even ancient cave paintings. As each human being is different, the system is at its best when it provides a base for consumers to be who they truly are.

I have played in bands before; Barry has taken lessons and can read music. Lamasa, and Clifford have done neither, however, they bring, energy, love, compassion, and excitement to the band. I do not provide Case Management, Counseling, or any of the other myriad systematic resources a consumer needs in his/her recovery process. A clear example of my role as Peer Supporter would be: 1) a world renowned cancer surgeon who has never been sick a day in his life 2) a cancer survivor support group. Not only would the surgeon be unwelcome at the weekly meetings, he would have no idea how to relate to what they have gone through. As Peer Supporters we merely provide that basis of familiarity and trust so that others may feel comfortable navigating their way through a complicated system of service delivery.

Mostly what we are hoping to happen at this event is 1) have tons of fun and learning

2) administrators to get a raw look at exactly how consumers feel 3) everyone come away with plans of creating new ways of cooperation for the near and the distant future.

Reminder: Charles MeKaru of Customer Services tells me he is not getting a large response from the community regarding the Consumer Award ceremony on Peer Support & Empowerment Day’. Maybe if I describe what we have in store, more of you will send in nominations. Over the last 2 weeks ‘Recovery’ the consumer band, has been working on a song specifically for this event. Each of us has put our spirit into perfecting this song, as it will be our gift to consumers. And we are proud of the progress we have made, and are going to be even prouder to see the reaction of those to whom this day is dedicated. The Award ceremony shall begin while we are still playing our special song, and Veda Sharp will begin giving out Awards. So send in your nominations and bring your cameras ASAP.

Connecting Tags; Recovery, advocacy, peer, fan-the-flame, copower, prosynergy

World Psychiatric Association Meets with Psychiatric Survivor Movement Groups

DRESDEN, GERMANY: I only have a moment here at the hotel in Dresden,
Germany to sum up a great deal of news.

Representatives of several psychiatric survivor/mental health
consumer organizations held meetings with top leaders of the World
Psychiatric Association during the past three days here.

The WPA conference is on the topic of coercion in psychiatry. For
more than a year, several psychiatric survivor and mental health
consumer groups have been aware of this situation.

I am very proud to report that these movement groups worked well
together to address this challenge. We appointed author/psychiatric
survivor Peter Lehmann as our negotiator/liaison with the WPA, and
Peter did an absolutely brilliant job.

Connecting Tags; community-based, choice, stigma, Recovery, fan-the-flame, copower, prosynergy

Hearing Voices In Your Head - International Website Launched Today

Today sees the launch of a new international website for hearing voices providing a gateway for all things to do with people who hear voices (aka auditory hallucinations). The launch takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark, where representatives of the eighteen nations involved in working on the issue of hearing voices are holding their annual meeting.

http://www.intervoiceonline.org is not only the most extensive resource for people who hear voices that can be found on the web, but it also presents a very different way of thinking about the meaning of hearing voices.

Professor of Psychiatry, Marius Romme, the president of INTERVOICE, the organisation hosting the website said:

"We think our site is very distinctive from the way mental health and psychiatric sites usually provide information about hearing voices. For a start we do not automatically assume that hearing voices is in itself a problem.

Connecting Tags; Recovery, community-based, stigma, fan-the-flame, copower, prosynergy

Peer Support

from Gerald Butler

June 4, 2007

The two greatest things about Peer Support are, 1) we can actually see the almost immediate effect on those we are working with. 2) True Peer Support is done from the heart, and anytime that much passion and spirit is applied to anything, everyone benefits. In the two months I have been working to organize the consumer band, I have grown exponentially. On a physical level, I am more positive than ever that the particular method of treatment is not as important as whether or not basic humanity is applied. I am growing spiritually in that I am realizing the value such characteristics as, integrity, honesty, and truth, play in helping others in their recovery journey.

The system has grown to the point where everyone involved, providers, consumers, physicians, case managers, ETC, must be pioneers. We all must work as one unit to find new and innovative paths of cooperation; after all, we are all affected by outcomes. In the last 12 years I have met literally thousands of folks in recovery, and every single person has had some sort of strong spiritual belief in a Higher Power. As Peer Supporters, we help nurture that spirituality in that we have been there, done that, and we are appreciative of the deep seated wants and desires of those new to the system

Veda Sharp, (Deputy Director/ D-WCCMHA) has expressed her excitement over the up coming conference, and we are proud to have her speak at this event. If it were not for her efforts, we would not be having this event, and we wholeheartedly thank her for her dedication to our recovery. She has also said there will not be a repeat of an incident last year in which consumers were yelled at by a staff member. Over the years, Yuself Seegars (Disability Network-Wayne County) has been a strong advocate for ‘Recovery Centered’ housing, and its essential role in the recovery process. He will be speaking on the importance of “Preparing for Independence’. By law, Religion and systems must remain separate, and rightly so. Thus we cannot expect systems to deal with a vital recovery tool, our spirituality. I will be speaking on this issue from the level of ‘Peer to Peer’, and on the values of self-esteem and unselfish love.

Dr. Harriet Green (Medical Director/ Behavioral Health Professionals Inc.) has been doing trainings on ‘Motivational Interviewing’ around the County. This educates administrators in the benefits of establishing a relationship of trust with clients. Over the past year she has done an in depth study of the Peer Support Movement, and will speak on the role Peer Supporters play in System Transformation. The good thing about Dr. Green’s presentations is that she presents in a way that everyone from the experts to the novice can relate to.

There was a recent article in the newspaper (Naomi Patton-Free Press-May 8^th) about Shirley Cockrel (Go-Getters Drop In Center/ Director) in which she told a little about her journey in recovery, and I feel it should be required reading for everyone in this field, consumers and administrators alike. Shirley will be presenting, ‘Recovery: A Consumer Perspective’, and anyone with a heart will be moved upon hearing her story. Panel members (Gabriel Williams, Tom Burden, Andria Jackson, and Joseph Hodge) were hand chosen because these particular consumers are strong advocates for utilizing their past to help others get through the maze of treatment and into recovery. In other words, they are turning ‘Poison into Medicine’ and I am certain God is looking upon them with favor.

By most standards, the progress of the consumer band ‘Recovery’ in the last two months would be considered miraculous. In reality it is merely Peer Support in its purest form. We are going to dance, have fun and deliver the message of recovery and hope, all in one session. Due to the great response from the last conference, ‘Urban Farming and Community Gardening’ will again be done by Genevieve Clark (Arise Detroit) and I hear she has some new material. By acquiring vacant lots from Wayne County and the City of Detroit, we are hoping to encourage Clubhouses and Drop In Centers to establish gardens that will not only help feed their members, but could possibly be a source of extra income depending on the size and amount of labor each facility is willing to apply.

James Lindsey (D-WCCMHA/ Customer Service) is extremely knowledgeable, and we sort of look at him as our own personal ‘Professor’. He also demonstrates how valuable a role ‘Informed Consumers’ play in relation to System Transformation. He will speak on the progress of Customer Service. James Child Savior (Corrections to Work) will be speaking on his experiences, and his efforts to help those who have been incarcerated, turn their lives around. His presentation ‘A Bad Hand Dealt’ deals with overcoming impossible odds, getting into recovery, and helping others. If you’re smart, you’ll bring your cameras specifically for the next event.

There are certain tasks that to most folks would seem mundane, but to many consumers, accomplishing these tasks are milestones. It often means they have come a long way in their recovery journey. We have asked Michele Vasconcellos (Director/ Customer Service@ D-WCCMHA) to present ‘Certificate of Achievement Awards to those consumers who have overcome obstacles and moved up a step on the recovery ladder. Those with cameras, and who are able to take a decent shot, will have proof of what it looks like when a person smiles from the inside when these consumers are presented with their awards.

Finally, I have been to Mental Health conferences around the State and even out of the State. The one common denominator is this: for whatever reason, consumers end up in the back of the venue and administrators end up in the front. This is one of the subtleties that help perpetuate stigma. At this conference, we are asking to approach that by having consumers occupying the tables in the front. This is a mere symbolic gesture, and not meant to cause any consternation among anyone. Also, we will be saying Prayer at around 9:10 that morning, and it would be great if those not able to attend, would still join us in prayer at that time.

Gerald Butler

CPSS/ Consumer Advocate

Remembering the 504 Sit-ins

This is a link to a "podcast", a recorded interview with a participant in famous sit-in in April of 1977. If you take the link, you can choose from a variety of speeds for the recording and you can listen to the entire interview.

From the press release:

During the month of April, the disability community marked the 30 year anniversary of the sit-ins that brought about signing and implementation of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. These regulations forced all federally funded programs and services to be made accessible to people with disabilities. Convincing the government to implement 504 was not easy and eventually led advocates to stage sit-ins at various federal buildings around the country; the longest of which went on for over three weeks in San Francisco. The efforts of those involved were successful when, on April 28, 1977, the regulations implementing 504 were signed. You can learn more about the sit-in and the effort to force the government to implement 504 by clicking here.

HolLynn D’Lil participated in the San Francisco sit-in both as a photojournalist and as a person with a disability. She joins me this week on DisabilityNation to talk about the sit-in, what it was like to participate and how being involved impacted her life.

Connecting Tags; rights, choice, accessibility, fan-the-flame, copower, prosynergy

Mental Health Parity Gets Closer to Reality

For years now, advocates of a mental health parity law have had the votes they needed in Congress to pass a bill. However, every year until now, Republican House leaders quietly shoved it aside, making sure it could never get to a floor vote and effectively blocking every new push for passage.

This year, however, those Republican leaders are no longer in control, and health insurers and employer groups have been backing a Senate bill that they say they can live with, particularly if it means warding off House legislation that they see as far worse.

Connecting Tags; economics, choice, fan-the-flame, copower, prosynergy