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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 2015)
Page 12 Commentary Street Roots • Dec. 11-17, 2015 Advocacy by and for people with mental illness: The DIY Guide We are confident because we study other American civil rights movements that have CONTRIBUTING COLUMNISTS gone before us. We learn from their tactics and trace their history. Through study of Then we are out and about, meeting their success wé can estimate the timeline and tweeting, connecting with of our civil rights movement. people in their first years of Compared to other civil rights recovery from mental illness, invariably they movements, where are advocates for people want to do something. Something big! with mental illness now? Something political and artistic and very We are where African American advocates important They want to make the change were, circa 1920. Most of our people live in so no one else will have to endure the same chronic poverty, ghettos, institutions or degradation, the same stereotypes and doorways. We are loathed by our neighbors, scorn, the same factory-farm labeling and undereducated and underemployed, worse-than-nothing treatment they’ve been dependent on scraps, charity and through already in their efforts to get well. government largesse. We are arrested They are eager and ready, and they always without reason and held without bail. We are ask an eternally tricky question, what can I beaten and killed with impunity. do to make a difference? Our Thurgood Marshall is working toward A tricky question indeed. There are many his undergraduate degree. Our Martin ways to answer; none are simple or easy- Luther King is holding his mother’s hand on so we’ll start hard. the way to kindergarten. Our Barack Obama We are experienced advocates for people is yet to be born. with mental illness who believe fiercely in Our day in the streets,' our NAACP, our what we’re doing, and we’d love to recruit Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, our you and your friends! But be warned: If Human Rights Commission, our victories in maintaining your psychiatric wellness is a Congress and the Supreme Court, our full priority in your life, we can’t in good freedom and civil rights - will not occtir in conscience recommend mental illness this generation, but the next, Or the next advocacy as a vocation. It’s a lonely after that. We will not live to see the fruits business, with few wins and much adversity. of our work, but you young people, newer to In fact, it’s a general rule for us: If a life and newer to advocacy might Either campaign requires additional medication, way, what we do today matters vitally: it is skip it the structure upon which tomorrow will be That’s a little joke between advocates built, a tomorrow of freedom and equality when we’re together swapping stories. for our children’s children. . Although we just finished warning you From this perspective, we can have hope from the advocacy we do, we nevertheless even when our efforts appear hopeless. We believe it is the most important civil rights are a moment in the movement; there were work of our time. We, and many others moments before and 'there will be many around the world, are nothing less than the vanguard of a nascent civil rights movement, more in the future. So what do we do now, in this moment? the bare start of a struggle yet to be We do what African Americans who sought recognized by the mental health industry. equality and liberty did in the 1920s: we We seek something small, simple and so organize and build our organizations. We universal that normal people take for collect and write our history. We repair the granted: participation - just participation, language which diminishes our dreams. We without discrimination or repression - in persuade. We show up. We learn how to be the social and political life of society and kind to each other, nurture leaders when we state. find them, and sustain those in the We don’t have it now. We never have had trenches. We welcome others as friends. it Without a fight we’re never going to get . That’s a rather wide open mandate. Not it so helpful actually. People with mental illness are the most What should be the priorities for a person discriminated against class of people, here who wants to be part of the change, part of in Oregon and the world over, today or at building a new nation? What should be first? any point in history. We are hated as a What can wait? What can be successfully cultural given and always have been - from changed? What is impossible and therefore being cast adrift on a Ship of Fools, to being should be turfed? What is sustainable? What chained naked in an asylum cell; from the is beneficial? enthusiastic embrace of lobotomy, to the We know what happens to people who dull brutality of death by cop. But now, with a few legal protections here don’t get help. They live in prisons and on the streets, until, in misery, terror, panic and a few medical advances there, with technology advancing our ability to organize, and hatred, they destroy themselves or others. Loathed and forgotten, they die. We with society more and more accepting of see them in mugshots on the news. We see formerly despised groups, we see an them sleeping in alleys. We see them lost opportunity for change. And we believe we and alone, exiled in the middle of this grand can succeed. BY JASON RENAUD AND JENNY WESTBURG TF "JT w/1/ V V and wealthy city. These are our brothers and sisters, our kin. We got help, and, for the most part, are okay. Ups and downs, but mostly okay. When we get in recovery and get the message our work becomes a singular and holy mission to help others. How can we help our brothers and sisters get okay, find normal, start their recovery journey? Simply put: What do we want? Evidence based, trauma-informed, barrier-free, long term, culturally competent, dual diagnosis treatment on demand.. When do we want it? Now. What do we want? Respect. Safety. Civil rights. When do we want it? Now. Here’s what you need to know just to get some foundation and framework about mental illness advocacy. Just to get started in the right direction, with some clarity, come thoughtfulness and foresight. Start with yourself. You are not a diagnosis; You may be sick or symptomatic, but you can get better. Say this: I have a diagnosis of mental illness, but because I work a program of recovery, my symptoms are reducing or reduced or gone. I can get better. I have an illness in remission. I am not sick. I have an illness. I am not a sickness. I am not my illness. I can get better. Sometimes we are sick. Sometimes we can’t honestly say we’re in recovery. Sometimes our symptoms overwhelm us and we’re frightened or delusional or can’t get out of the house. But our intention is always to recover, to be well, to be symptom free, to live a full and happy life, to have friends and be engaged with our community. We are human beings and we aspire to health and not a diagnosis. Get in recovery. If you’re symptomatic, get help. No one got sick alone, no one gets well alone: ask for help, get help, be helped. Your path of recovery is the story of your new life, of regaining your life. And you need to be without symptoms to do this work, to get a seat at the table, to get respect, to stay at the table. . Once you have a lived a duration of time relatively symptom free, start talking about how you did it Others want to know about your recovery, others need to be inspired by your recovery. Keep it simple, practice in the mirror or talk to your dog. Work a jpke in. Your story of recovery will be unique and true and revealing - but it is the basis of your credibility to. be a mental health advocate. Work on it. Start getting well. You help when you tell-your story to normal people. Further, you help when you give your money and give your time. Everyone can give $25 to support an organization they believe makes a difference. Twenty-five dollars a year. That’s about seven cents a day. Yes everyone can do this. Do it this way - buy a copy of Street Roots from every vendor you find. Buy four or five a week. Ask the vendor’s story. Stay awhile. They have a story they’re proud to tell. Give your time. Call an organization you believe in and ask, can I volunteer? Sometimes the answer will be no,, they don’t have the capacity to put you to work. But they know who can and will refer you to one which can put you to work. Find work and give your time. Big Question: If I don’t have a mental illness, can I advocate for people with mental illness - or should I be an ally of an advocate? Working as a doctor or nurse doesn’t make you. an advocate. Saying you represent our issue robs us of the opportunity. Your action asserts privilege and continues oppression. Managing a program or providing direct service doesn’t educate you about OUR experience. Your story, your perspective is important and vital. If you supplant it to usurp ours you miss an opportunity to speak your own truth to power. Self-styled allies often step forward to speak on behalf of people with mental illness. This should not be welcomed. We speak for ourselves. These allies would not assume a position of leadership for a different religion or race, for a gender identity they don’t possess, or for a political party they aren’t a member of. They should not speak on our behalf. We need allies to enforce the respect and safety required for our voices to be heard. We’re easily dissuaded from activism - the threat of disregard and retaliation are real to us. Respectful and side rooms are rare and very helpful to our experience and success as advocates. Big Question: Yes, but where is the revolution? Where is the fight I want to fight? Our paths toward illness were each unique. Our recoveries are also singular. Mental illness defies organization - no mechanistic approach to help works. What works is one person choosing to help another. Choosing to help is healing to both the healer and the sick. Our revolution is individualized as well. Each of us is pushing, pushing, pushing, squeezing, squeezing an amorphous fucking thing called “fear” or “hatred” or “discrimination.” Together and separately, by telling opr stories of recovery to normal people, one at a time, in our own time and in our own way, we reduce the pressure, name the thing, decrease the panic. Tell your story. Tell it in your own way and in your own time. Tell it again and again. Tell it to those who listen with kindness and respect.
