Monthly Update: June 2024

News for the Month of June 2024

By Al Galves, President of the Board of Directors of MindFreedom International

Overview

We’re moving forward. The MindFreedom Shield Program has been rejuvenated through the work of a bunch of terrific volunteers led by Jim Gottstein with back-end assistance by staff member Cara V. Judi’s Room is continuing to provide people with useful information on the ways in which people’s rights are being violated and how we can stop such violations.

The importance of our members

I had a good talk with David Oaks last week. He convinced me that we should focus on increasing our membership and helping our members become a phalanx, a grassroots army that gains territory in the battle against the forces that want to lock people up and inject them with a toxic drug. I have been too focused on raising money, realizing that we aren’t going to be able to raise enough money from membership dues to operate at the level we want to operate at. I realize now that members are a very important resource regardless of whether they support us financially. I am committed to working with the Board and with all of you on increasing our membership and helping it become the weapon it can be. Our first step is to get a “Join” link on our website.

We are re-building our membership, which we have not sufficiently nurtured since David’s accident almost a dozen years ago. This will enable us to be in regular contact with members, receive messages from members and send out membership renewal messages at appropriate times. We will also find a way to help our members take effective action at opportune times. We are also planning to have “listening sessions,” where members can join us on Zoom and let us know how MindFreedom is doing and discuss other topics of interest. Anyone who has made a donation to us since January 1, 2023, no matter how big or small, is considered a member.

Fundraising team

We have a fundraising team that is being led by KK Kapp. Its members include Danielle Zia, Krista Erickson, Maggie Leppert, Paulette Wisnom, Susan Musante and Vesper Moore. They are applying to foundations and contacting major donors and prospective donors. If you want to help with ideas, contacts, legwork or anything else please contact KK at kristinakapp@gmail.com.

MindFreedom Shield

The MindFreedom Shield is a mutual aid program in which if someone who has signed up is being threatened with or subjected to unwanted psychiatric interventions, a MindFreedom Shield Alert is issued and our network of volunteers and fellow Shield members advocate on the person’s behalf by pressuring the people and institutions involved to honor the rights and preferences of the person being threatened with or subjected to psychiatric force.

Following is a report on the MindFreedom Shield from Jim Gottstein:

In spite of a steep learning curve and technology challenges, both of which are working through, our MindFreedom Shield Volunteers are doing tremendous work. Since we held our initial Shield Volunteer recruitment meeting in mid-March we have had 44 requests or inquiries about possible Shield Alerts. Of these, four have resulted in Shield Alerts, twelve are still being actively worked for possible Alerts, seven are in a holding pattern, and 22 are considered completed, including the successful Alert.

As to the four Alerts:

1.    William Mahler was successfully sprung from psychiatric imprisonment in Massachusetts. While most of the credit goes to his lawyer, Tamara Barney, who, unlike most appointed lawyers, put on a good defense, having twenty or so MindFreedom supporters show up at his Zoom hearing didn’t hurt. William thinks it was a big help.
2.    Juba Mahou is locked up in Quebec and being forced to endure a neuroleptic he doesn’t want.
3.    Jeremy Cummings in Ontario is also locked up, and injected with a neuroleptic against his will.
4.    Then there is David Russell locked up in the Mayo Clinic. We believe David has received five electroshocks against his will, regaining consciousness from the fourth one with a potentially life-threatening blood clot in his arm. It appears they have resumed electroshocking him in spite of the blood clot.

These Alerts are being updated on a timely basis as events unfold and new actions are requested.

If you are so moved, please check out their Alerts and take action to try and extricate Juba, Jeremy, and David from the grip of forced psychiatry. You can also sign-up to receive Alerts and updates by e-mailing shield@mindfreedom.org.

Judi’s Room

There will be no Judi’s Room webinar in July since it would be at 6:00 PM Eastern Time the day before the Fourth of July Holiday in the U.S. The topic of the August Judi’s Room is “If Assisted Suicide is Legal, what will our Healthcare be Like?” Following is some information on it from Susan Fitzmaurice of I Love You, Lead On.

Sponsored by Patients Rights Action Fund – Michigan Coalition, MindFreedom International, and I Love You, Lead On. Assisted suicide law proposals are expanding to include people with non-terminal illnesses. Some proposed laws have included anorexia, depression, schizophrenia, and/or dementia. Let’s discuss the ramifications to healthcare if assisted suicide is considered a healthcare choice.

Videos of many of the past Judi’s Rooms are on MindFreedom’s YouTube Channel.

Supporting MindFreedom

We have been running on fumes and all donations, large or small, will be put to good use and greatly appreciated. We hope you are seeing increased value in what MindFreedom is now doing, and if you are so inclined, you can donate online, send a check to MindFreedom, International, P.O. Box 11284, Eugene, OR 97440-3484 USA, or scan this QR Code.

Here’s wishing everyone a good summer.

With Support,

Al Galves, President