Going to Alternatives 2012? Interested in this event? 

The US federal government funds this large conference each year – Alternatives 2012 – with hundreds of mental health consumers and psychiatric survivors from all over the USA and beyond. 

This year’s will be in MindFreedom’s home state of Oregon. 

You are invited to participate in some of these MFI-related activities:

• OCSC Gathering, Wed. 10 October: MindFreedom Oregon is one of the groups in the Oregon Consumer/Survivor Coalition (OCSC), a state-wide nonprofit. Preceding Alternatives 2012, OCSC will hold a free afternoon state-wide gathering from 1 pm to 4 pm, to network and talk about legislative strategy. Pre-registration is required, for more info click here. 
• MFI Exhibit Table, Thurs, Fri., Sat., 11 to 13 October: Visit the MindFreedom International booth in the exhibit table. Check out the Mad Market, get a t-shirt, buy a book, take the I Got Better Survey! The MFI exhibit table is often the buzzing center of activism at conferences. Note: If you are a MindFreedom member who would like to join in the fun of staffing the booth with LaTonya, email office@mindfreedom.org or stop by the booth.
• Video Your I Got Better Story, Friday, 12 October: MFI will be taping “I Got Better Videos”! These are brief videos about how you overcame hopelessness in the mental health system about recovery. Your brief story – less than 7 minutes – could save a life! If you know your best time, you can pre-schedule. Or check in at the Laurelhurst Room on Friday, where professional documentary filmmaker David Heine, creator of Little Brother Big Pharma & Care Farms, will be videoing folks. We’ll mainly be taping from 10 am to 3 pm. For more info click here.
• Workshop by MFI director David Oaks, along with Mike Bacchuber and others, will present on how cross-disability (so-called ‘physical’ disability movement) can work in a united way with the ‘mad movement. It’s at 1:30 pm and it’s called: Peer Movement & Independent Living Centers: Common Ground? 
• Join a vigil against electroshock on Friday, 12 October. At 4:30 pm meet outside the hotel lobby, then at 5:00 pm cross the street with us to hold up big signs against electroshock so the rush hour traffic will see us. We are supporting several electroshock survivor activists. We will YouTube this to reach the public. For more info, click here.
• MF Alternative Live Free Web Radio, Saturday, 13 October: Find MindFreedom staff, ask at exhibit table, because at 11 am we’ll be doing our monthly MindFreedom Alternative Mental Health Live Free Web Radio show, from the Alternatives conference! You can ‘get a taste of the Alternatives 2012 conference’ from wherever you live, live – ask your questions and give your opinions. Get on the MFI News list to be notified of details. 
• After Alternatives: Celia Brown in Eugene. Sticking around after the Alternatives Conference? Join us in Eugene, Oregon, two hours south of the conference, and home of MindFreedom International. We’re doing a special event with Celia Brown, board president of MFI, who is flying in from New York City. You can download a flyer about this event here.