Judi’s Room is named after Judi Chamberlin, a beloved human rights activist within the psychiatric survivor’s/ex-patient movement who was fond of quoting the motto of the disability rights movement, “Nothing about us, without us!”

Judi’s Room is an educational series jointly presented by MindFreedom International and ‘I Love You, Lead On’. It usually starts with a panel of experts, followed by an open discussion. Using the more informal ‘meeting’ format of Zoom, participants can use chat or post questions but we request that audience members mute themselves while the panelists are speaking.

The topic for this month’s Judi’s Room is “Conservatorship/Guardianship”

Brittany Spears public testimony on how she continues to be mistreated has brought much needed attention to the abuses rampant in the guardian and conservator system. She has been stripped of her rights by a complex conservatorship which treats her as a money-making object and denies her personhood. People with disabilities, as well as the elderly are too easily taken advantage of under the false principle that it is “for their own good.” Anyone can be vulnerable. The presenters will describe the control that guardians have and will engage in dialogue with attendees on what can be done to change a system that exploits those who are vulnerable.

Presenters:

Susan Fitzmaurice is a lifelong disability advocate and disabled with multiple disabilities. She has parented two young disabled people and made very different choices about guardianship resulting with very different consequences. She has a long history using the internet to provide disability support. Her first sexuality and disability website is over 25 years old. She created the first web-based resources for people with disabilities after the Katrina hurricane. She currently is devoted to the ILove You, Lead On Community – a space where disability and all its intersections are celebrated. —

Dohn Hoyle is the Public Policy Director of The Arc of Michigan and long-time advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. Dohn helped to rewrite the Michigan Mental Health Code to include person-centered planning and to eliminate the term mental retardation; was instrumental in the closure of specialized nursing homes for children and people with developmental disabilities, and the Regional Centers for People with Developmental Disabilities in his state. Dohn convenes the Howell Group, an organization of people across Michigan who intend to see that people with disabilities have the opportunity to experience what we know is right and they desire, and Advocates Concerned with Integrated Care, a group of disability organizations representing the concerns of persons who are eligible for Medicaid and Medicare and receive supports.

Miranda Spencer is a staff editor at the webzine Mad in America. A longtime journalist and media critic, specializing in health, science, and social justice, her work is informed by her lived experience in the mental health system.

Facilitator

Jim Gottstein is the author of The Zyprexa Papers and founder of PsychRights whose mission is to mount a strategic litigation campaign against forced psychiatric drugging and electroshock.