Fwd: E-mail now to oppose stealth bill: HB 2082 in Oregon legislature

[Guest guest]

SSRI-Research , JustSayNo wrote:

" Your Mind & Human Rights in Oregon " - 14 April 2003

http://www.MindFreedom.org - please forward

 

MENTAL HEALTH " STEALTH BILL " HEADS

THROUGH OREGON HOUSE!

 

HOUSE BILL 2082 THROWS OPEN LAW ENFORCEMENT

DATA TO MENTAL HEALTH COMMITMENT INVESTIGATORS

 

NAMI-OREGON ASKS US ALL TO " FORGET THE BILL " ... BUT

THEIR LEGISLATIVE CHAIR KEEPS PUSHING IT FORWARD

 

HOW YOU CAN E-MAIL HOUSE JUDICIARY TO

STOP " PHIL'S BILL " TODAY!

 

by David Oaks, Director, MindFreedom.org

 

OREGON: You don't need to go to Washington, D.C. to view

intrigue, secret operations, false denials, and cover-ups.

 

You can start right here in Salem with the National Alliance for

the Mentally Ill - Oregon, the state-wide mental health group.

 

It is urgent that you e-mail the below legislators to oppose a bill

in the Oregon House that would throw open up Law Enforcement Data

System -- all the secret police files -- to mental health personnel

who are

investigating mental health commitment about Oregon citizens.

 

There are good reasons to oppose the content of House Bill 2082...

but there is also a reason of fairness to oppose this: This bill is

a " stealth bill " meant to fly under the radar of mental health

consumers and psychiatric survivors, without public support from

the mental health community.

 

This bill is, unfortunately, a symbol of the way the National Alliance

for the Mentally Ill is being used by some individuals with an agenda

to push for more force and coercion in the mental health system.

 

And, unfortunately, it's also a symbol of the way the trust of mental

health consumers and psychiatric survivors is often betrayed.

 

THE SECRET HISTORY OF NAMI'S HOUSE BILL 2082

 

HB 2082 was created by National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

*last* session in 2001 as part of a suite of bills to promote more

forced

psychiatry, more commitment, easier commitment, longer commitment,

etc.

 

Because of a lot of lobbying by a lot of activists, mental health

consumers and psychiatric survivors, those bills failed.

 

With a new director of NAMI-Oregon, Stephen Louiza, there was hope

NAMI-Oregon would re-direct its energies away from divisive pro-force

bills, and into dealing with the emergency of cutbacks in human

services.

Was this the beginning of NAMI finally healing the wounds with mental

health consumers and psychiatric survivors, caused by yeras of pushing

a single-minded agenda of more forced drugs, more forced drugs?

 

In face-to-face communications and e-mail, Mr. Louiza repeatedly

stated that there was a new NAMI-Oregon... one that would focus on

uniting the mental health community for more funding.

 

But this session, the legislative chair for NAMI, attorney Phil

Chadsey,

quietly re-introduced that set of ill-fated bills under the name of

NAMI.

 

In repeated e-mails to me, director of NAMI-Oregon,

Stephen Louiza, disavowed the bills. Stephen said NAMI's

priority was " services, parity and access. " He said, " The

rest of these things are just diversion from what we must

accomplish and that is adequate funding. I don't know anything

about these other bills. " He repudiated Phil's bills repeatedly.

 

But three SCI members independently came to me with concerns that

the bills were moving forward, and that the House Judiciary was under

the distinct impression NAMI-Oregon was behind these bills.

 

" FORGET THE BILLS... THEY AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE... "

 

I kept asking questions. Stephen told me, " David, here are our

legislative

goals for this session " [He repeated services, parity and access.]

" Nothing else! That's our emphasis and where our energy is going.

Forget the bills that were rolled over from last session.

They aren't going anywhere and we're not putting energy into them. "

 

Well, it turns out that, according to the House Judiciary Committtee's

staff Bill Taylor, Phil Chadsey went ahead with his bills. And Taylor

said Chadsey claimed to represent the organization for the

past six months, and still does. Mr. Taylor is still under the

impression that this is a NAMI bill. If you look up House Bill 2082

on the house legislative Internet, you will see NAMI's name.

 

Today, SCI member Dave Romprey blew the whistle: He attended

a meeting and heard NAMI leader Doris Minard claim to have no

knowledge of commitment bills... but later reveal that she did know,

but they were " Phil's bills. " He knew there was a problem, and he

rang the alarm. Dave Romprey knows that honesty and breaking

the silence are good for one's emotional well being.

 

WHO IS IN CHARGE AT OREGON-NAMI?

 

Phil Chadsey is a Portland attorney who fervently believes that

more involuntary psychiatric drugging is crucial to the mental

health system. When the organization didn't provide him public

support,

Phil apparently has charged ahead... without any consequences

from the organization that we know of. Phil heads the legislative

committee for NAMI-Oregon, but may think he heads the whole

organization. Without any consequences, he may be right. Phil

apparently does NAMI-Oregon's dirty work.

 

While the rest of " Phil's bills " have been stalled, HB 2082 is

moving forward, and has already had a hearing and a work session.

 

Another work session is scheduled this Wednesday, April 16, 2003,

but because it's a second work session no public comment is

allowed.

 

That leaves e-mail and phone calls!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

ACTION ACTION ACTION -- URGENT E-MAIL CAMPAIGN

 

STOP HOUSE BILL 2082 BECAUSE:

 

* Commitment -- where one can lose one's liberty -- is supposed

to be based on current behavior, not past criminal behavior.

 

* This bill is a violation of privacy, and sends the wrong message

to mental health consumers and psychiatric survivors who are

already alienated from the current mental health system.

 

* At a time of cutbacks, why is the legislature wasting valuable

time and money on a bill that would spend more money to lock

people up against their will?

 

* This bill does not represent the public voice of mental health

and human rights organizations in Oregon -- it is essentially

part of a divisive, private agenda by one element of NAMI.

 

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

 

ACTION:

 

E-mail to the HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, at these e-mail addresses:

 

<rep.gordonanderson@s...>, <rep.jeffbarker@s...>,

<rep.bobjenson@s...>, <rep.jerrykrummel@s...>,

<rep.gregmacpherson@s...>, <rep.floydprozanski@s...>,

<rep.laneshetterly@s...>

 

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

 

SAMPLE MESSAGE:

 

Your own language is best, but feel free to copy this if you have

just a moment:

 

" Oppose HB 2082. This bill violates privacy, confuses commitment with

criminal proceedings, and wastes taxpayer resources at a time when

basic human needs cannot be met. This divisive bill is not publicly

supported

by any mental health or human rights organization, please stop it

NOW! "

 

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

 

BELOW is a letter from me on behalf of Support Coalition

to the House Judiciary Committee:

 

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

 

URGENT - 14 April 2003

 

Dear Representative,

 

This is an urgent note to House Judiciary to oppose HB 2082, which

would

allow access to the Law Enforcement Data System, and which is

scheduled

for a work session.

 

A brief background: This bill is part of a suite of unsuccessful

bills that

were filed *last* session to increase the use of involuntary

psychiatric

commitment in the State of Oregon.

 

PLEASE NOTE:

 

No mental health organization we are aware of has been

openly working for these bills.

 

It's important to know a little history on this bill:

 

My understanding is that essentially one person -- Phil Chadsey --

acting as an

individual, has been pushing this bill forward. But even the

organization

he is part of (NAMI) has publicly distanced itself from his bills,

according

to their state director Stephen Louiza. Phil's bill is part of a

suite of

bills

from last session that were stopped... but Phil has personally moved

them

forward without public support from his group, or other mental health

groups.

 

Why? Why is NAMI not publicly pushing for these bills?

 

Because at a time when there is a shortage of funding for basic

human needs, it is extremely divisive to be pushing forward bills that

coercion with real help.

 

Mental health consumers and psychiatric survivors are in an emergency

situation because of shortage of funding. The commitment system is

inherently

unfair, it is admitting failure of other more humane approaches.

Supposedly,

commitment is based on actual behavior, *not* on history and the past.

 

A person's past should not make them into a second class citizen,

where

their past can and will be used against them when they have committed

no apparent crimes, they are not before a judge for sentencing, etc.

 

Commitment investigations are about deprivation of liberty. Using

their past

against them once more shows us how unscientific and unfair the

commitment

procedure really is.

 

What message are we sending to the mental health consumer and

psychiatric

survivor community during a time of cutbacks, when we find money to

provide personal and confidential information -- that is *supposed* to

be irrelevant to the decision -- to investigations that may

take away their liberty.

 

Instead of wasting precious time and money on one individual's

personal

campaign for more forced psychiatry... please stand with the mental

health

organizations who are moving on to more positive, unifying and helpful

approaches.

 

Just say " no " to this bill. You will be saying " no " not just to a

faulty

bill,

but to the divisiveness of a few individuals who represent no

organizations,

who are attempting to pass their personal agenda through the

legislature.

 

Please stop 2082.

 

Thank you, sincerely,

 

David Oaks, Director, Support Coalition International

 

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

 

FURTHER ACTION

 

LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS WITH OTHER NAMI MEMBERS!

 

Some of you, like me, are NAMI members. That's right, I'm

a NAMI member who has attended several meetings.

 

Perhaps, like me, you have become tired of the

way a few extremists in NAMI, such as Phil

Chadsey, can continue to push for bills IN OUR NAME, while the

organization claims we should " forget it.... " and that NAMI

is the largest " consumer " organization in the USA.

 

WE WON'T FORGET

 

One place you can bring this up is on Sunday, May 18, 2003 -

in either San Francisco, or Portland, Oregon. Here's how:

 

There will be a nonviolent protest in San Francisco that day

in front of the American Psychiatric Association see our web site

for info -- http://www.MindFreedom.org

 

But for those of you unable to go to San Francisco, another peaceful

and nonviolent way to show your concern is to bring up

these issue at NAMI-Oregon's PUBLIC WALK. NAMI-Oregon

conference is that weekend in Portland, Oregon, and they

are holding a PUBLIC WALK on May 18 through PUBLIC SPACE.

 

You are welcome to peacefully attend and talk to people

there about concerns regarding human rights, NAMI,

NAMI's legislative agenda, and " Phil's bills. "

 

For more info on the NAMI Walk in Oregon see:

 

http://www.nami.org/multnomah/walk.html

 

This walk will also be going on in a few other cities.

 

If you wish to help organize a presence in Portland

or elsewhere while we are in San Francisco, e-mail me soon:

oaks@m...

 

And meanwhile, members in Minnesota are planning

on nonviolently attending the NAMI national annual

conference in Minnesota to also network with

NAMI members there who are dissatisfied with the

psychiatric system, and dissatisfied with the way

pro-force extremists in NAMI continue to set the agenda.

 

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

 

IF YOU WISH TO DO MORE THAN E-MAIL... MAKE SOME

PHONE CALLS!

 

Especially if you are in this district, make calls... but

e-mail and calls from anywhere help to show there

is opposition to this bill!

 

Rep. Max Williams, Chair 503 986-1435 <rep.maxwilliams@s...>

 

Rep. Robert Ackerman, Vice- Chair 503-986-1413

<rep.robertackerman@s...>

 

Rep. Gordon Anderson, Vice- Chair 503-986-1403

<rep.gordonanderson@s...>

 

Rep. Jeff Barker 503-986-1428 <rep.jeffbarker@s...>

 

Rep. Bob Jenson 503-986-1458 <rep.bobjenson@s...>

 

Rep. Jerry Krummel 503-986-1426 <rep.jerrykrummel@s...>

 

Rep. Greg Macpherson 503-986-1438 <rep.gregmacpherson@s...>

 

Rep. Floyd Prozanski 503-986-1408 <rep.floydprozanski@s...>

 

Rep. Lane Shetterly 503-986-1423 <rep.laneshetterly@s...>

 

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

 

PLEASE FORWARD THIS ALERT!!

 

FORWARDED BY:

 

--

 

David Oaks, Executive Director

MindFreedom Support Coalition International

454 Willamette, Suite 216 - POB 11284

Eugene, OR 97440-3484 USA

 

http://www.mindfreedom.org

e-mail: oaks@m... fax: (541) 345-3737

phone: (541) 345-9106

--- End forwarded message ---