A-Infos (en) Illinois actions against forced psychiat

[Graeme Bacque <gbacque@arcos.org>]

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DENDRITE ALERT: human rights in "mental health" system
 Feb. 6, 1998 - <dendron@efn.org> - please redistribute
 
      Illinois Human Rights Activists Oppose
      Spread of Involuntary Psychiatric Procedures
 
      Plan to "Break the Silence" and Leaflet, Sat., Feb.14
      Against NAMI's Campaign for More Forced Psychiatry
 
 AURORA, ILLINOIS - Illinois members of the human rights organization
 Support Coalition International plan to "break the silence" against
 forced psychiatric procedures. These activists will attend and
 leaflet a "Summit" organized by the pro-forced psychiatry National
 Alliance for Mentally Ill (NAMI), Sat., Feb.  14.
 
 Bernice Loschen is the organizer of Empowerment Self-Advocacy (ESA),
 an Illinois sponsor of Support Coalition. Bernice will lead
 pro-liberty citizens to be the "fly in the ointment" at NAMI's event.
 
 Bernice said, "If you know anyone in Illinois who wants to join us,
 please tell them about what we're doing! Let's all be there."
 
 While media accounts quoted NAMI representatives as saying they were
 open to all points of view at their "Summit" on forced psychiatry,
 Bernice discovered that NAMI Summit organizers plan to bar testimony
 from the public critical of forced psychiatry. Only a hand-picked
 panel will be allowed to speak. Bernice counts on the First Amendment
 and a stack of leaflets for her group to get around NAMI's plans.
 
 Three months ago, NAMI announced the launch of a major campaign,
 called the "Treatment Advoacy Center" [NAMI-TAC] to greatly increase
 the number of Americans who would be subject to forced psychiatric
 drugs, both inside institutions, and even those living in their own
 homes, out in the community. NAMI-TAC is the brain child of U.S.
 National Institute of Mental Health psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey.
 More than half of NAMI's major corporate donors are drug companies.
 
 NAMI is holding the "Summit" in response to a backlash by millions of
 Americans against forced psychiatry, when 51-year-old Illinois
 resident Shirley Allen gained national attention on Sept. 26 by
 holding back state troopers for 39 days from bringing her in to a
 psychiatric exam. Because of the public attention, Shirley Allen is
 now free and living at home, without being forcibly drugged.
 
 Bernice, who also protested for Allen, said, "People who can join us
 in leafleting against forced psychiatry at this event should phone us
 now." ESA phone number in Westville, Illinois: (217) 267-3113.
 
 People can also go directly to the NAMI's "Summit," which was
 announced in the media as being at the "Provina Mercy Center, 1325 N.
 Highland Ave., in Aurora, IL. Registration is at 9:30 am, with the
 forum from 10 am to 12:30 pm., Saturday, February 14, 1998."
 
 [As well as the action in Illinois, Support Coalition is also
 organizing a protest in Los Angeles, California on the same day, Sat.
 Feb. 14, against forced psychiatric abuse of children.]
 
 In other Illinois news, the _Chicago Tribune_ published an article on
 January 18, 1998 [Perspectives Section, Page 1], which described the
 conflict between NAMI and people who have personally experienced the
 psychiatric system. The article credits the Mental Health Consumer
 Education Consortium with de-railing a legislative attempt by NAMI to
 make it easier to drug people with psychiatric labels against their
 will in Illinois.
 
 Support Coalition also plans a national "counterprotest" against
 NAMI's forced drugging efforts, on May 2 in Washington, D.C. The U.S.
 government is spending $200,000 for a march that day co-chaired by
 Tipper Gore, to vastly increase the number of Americans getting
 psychiatric "treatment." NAMI is on the steering committee. For more
 info about the May 2 Support Coalition counterprotest, e-mail
 organizer Vicki Fox Wieselthier at: vickifw@madnation.org
 
 You can read about other campaigns to stop what it calls "NAMI's
 Chemical Crusade" in the new winter issue of Support Coalition's
 newsjournal, _Dendron News_. If you oppose forced human rights
 violations in psychiatry, you can request a sample copy of _Dendron
 News_ by e-mailing your postal address to:  dendron@efn.org
 
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 DENDRITE is a free "read only" announcement e-mail list of Support
 Coalition International, a non-profit alliance of 60 groups in eight
 countries united to WIN human rights campaigns in the "mental health"
 system. To receive DENDRITE, e-mail ListProc@efn.org with these two
 words:  subscribe dendrite

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