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Shield Update for Dawn Dziuba: 9/11/23

New call to action

Please sign and share MFI’s petition to demand that the Missouri Protection and Advocacy Services (P&A) and Department of Justice investigate the treatment of Dawn and many others like her at the Forensic Treatment Center in St. Louis.

Situation update

It has now been two months since Dawn lost all of her privileges in retaliation for exercising her rights. This means that she has been confined to hospital ward, she is not allowed to use the phone, exercise outside, have visitors, view her legal documents, or visit the library. Most concerning is that she is now being forcibly drugged with a powerful anti-psychotic called Abilify.

Dawn is very grateful to those of you who responded by writing letters and sending her books and other care items. Here is her mailing address again:

Dawn Dziuba

c/o Forensic Treatment Center – South

5300 Arsenal Street Ward F

St. Louis, MO 63139 USA

For years, Dawn has been unable to make her own medical decisions because years ago, a judge subjected Dawn to a limited guardianship, which had the effect of taking away her bodily autonomy. Essentially, being under a guardianship has taken away her right to legally oppose her forced drugging.

Remember when Britney Spears was forced to use birth control against her will because she was under guardianship for seven years? The lack of bodily autonomy that people under guardianship are forced to endure should be a cause for alarm for all civil rights advocates

Dawn’s court appointed guardian, Sean Rapp, is an attorney in St. Louis. Mr. Rapp has done nothing to stop the abuse of Dawn at the Forensic Treatment Center; not only did he fail to halt the removal of all of Dawn’s privileges, he is colluding with staff at the Forensic Treatment Center to forcibly drug Dawn.

Dawn has a new attorney named William Catlett who is filing a motion to terminate/change Dawn’s guardian.

As a part of the process, Dawn must present evidence of her competency at a hearing. This, in turn, requires that she seek an independent evaluation by a forensic psychiatrist.

Yulia Mikhailova, the unofficial coordinator of this Shield campaign, has been working closely with Dawn’s new attorney to help her locate a suitable evaluator. Dawn’s new attorney will also need letters of support from individuals who know Dawn. This can include those of you who have been corresponding and/or calling with Dawn and gotten to know her. If you would like to write a letter of support for Dawn attesting to her competency, please contact:

William A. Catlett, L.L.C.
11878 Gravois Road
St. Louis MO 63127-1800
(314) 631-7200
(314) 579-3262 (facsimile)
william@catlett.biz

It is imperative that we keep up the pressure.

 

Shield Update for Dawn Dziuba: 8/21/23

 

Shield Update for Dawn Dziuba: 8/14/2023

Dawn thanks those of you who already took action on her behalf. She asks for your continued help! Tomorrow she is scheduled to be injected by force.

For those of you who have not been following the Shield campaign of Dawn Dziuba, Dawn has been institutionalized in a forensic psychiatric facility for over ten years despite never having been convicted of a crime. You can scroll down to the original alert dated 7/13/23 to read a more detailed version of her story. What follows in this Shield update is a brief summary and a new call to action.

Even if you already took action please continue to help!

Dawn is going on her second month of being denied contact with the outside world (no phone, visitors, trips to the library, etc.) in retaliation for submitting a complaint against a staff member, something she is legally entitled to do.

When Dawn reached out to MindFreedom, she showed no signs of psychosis (scroll down and listen to a recording of Dawn) and she was discussing ways of helping other patients assert their rights against forced drugging and indefinite institutionalization.

Staff at the forensic hospital felt threatened by Dawn making efforts to advocate for herself and others. She is an attorney and holds several graduate degrees. A tense stand off developed between Dawn and the staff, culminating with Dawn being threatened and coerced into voluntarily taking an oral anti-psychotic called Abilify. She has been “voluntarily” taking this drug orally for over one month in order to avoid a forced ‘depot’ injection of the same drug.

Today, we learned that Dawn will be subjected to an injection of Abilify anyway. Psychiatric survivors who have been subjected to forced injections have compared it to being raped. Anti-psychotics are known to cause a host of side effects, including metabolic and movement disorders, cognitive impairment and brain shrinkage.

Abilify’s effects include “confusion and “ impulse control disorders.“ Overdose leads to “aggressive behavior,”

Depot or time-release injections are particularly scary. Once they are in the bloodstream, patients or doctors cannot ‘discontinue’ or withdraw quickly from that drug, even if a person experiences an adverse reaction.

Dawn is not being given therapeutic treatment; she is being chemically restrained and punished for asserting her rights.

Call to action

Contact the Missouri Protection and Advocacy Services (P&A) and demand an investigation of the Forensic Treatment Center South in St. Louis, Missouri and the unjust treatment of patient Dawn Dziuba. (See talking points below.)

You can email the Missouri P&A at app.unit@mo-pa.org or call them at 1-800-735-2966.

Please be respectful and non-violent in tone, and CC MFI’s office at office@mindfreedom.org.

Also consider CC’ing the members of Dawn’s treatment team:

To demand an investigation of Dawn’s forced drugging and indefinite institutionalization from the St. Louis Circuit Attorney, Gabriel Gore, you can fill out this online contact form or call 314-622-4941.

Shield Update for Dawn Dziuba 8/3/2023

Thank you, Shield members, for writing eloquent letters on Dawn’s behalf to lawmakers in Missouri (see how below), and for sending Dawn books to make up for the fact that she is being denied access to her local library.

Your letters made a difference!

Because of your actions, Representative Sarah Unsicker asked the Missouri Department of Mental Health to launch an investigation not only of the human rights violations of Dawn Dziuba, but also of the practice of subjecting patients in Missouri to psychiatric drugging by force. Rep. Unsicker’s letter was CC’d to the Missouri Attorney General (the focus of today’s call to action below). Rep. Unsicker, an attorney herself, pointed out irregularities in the legal process by which Dawn was subjected into guardianship/conservatorship, essentially making her a non-person with no rights. Click here to read Rep. Unsicker’s letter.

Several other lawmakers including Representative Boggs have also expressed an interest in Dawn’s situation. We will keep you posted on what, if anything, they find.https://mindfreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Letter-from-Representative-Sarah-Unsicker.pdf

Your letters produced excellent results! People power pays off! Thank you!

But we must continue to keep up the pressure. Dawn is going on her second week of being restricted to the ward. Those of who with lived experience of being in a restricted hospital know how tedious and crazy-making this experience can be. It is one step removed from solitary confinement. Being deprived of access to fresh air (outdoors), visitors, phone, the library, etc. it is torturous. Please continue to act and demand an investigation of Dawn’s treatment and call for her to be discharged!

Housekeeping update

Please do not email molegislature@networkagainstpsychiatricassault.org anymore. This email address was shut down by the owner after it started attracting bots and spam (e.g. ads for things like Viagra).

Moreover, do not be alarmed if you have already emailed this address and received a message saying that your email was blocked, as this is simply an anti-spam measure unrelated to Dawn’s campaign.

Call to action

Please call the Missouri State Attorney General at 573-751-3321. (For your reference, Dawn’s last name, Dziuba, is pronounced “duh-zoo-bah.”)

Alternatively, please click here to file a complaint on Dawn’s behalf via the website of the Missouri Attorney General’s office. Scroll down to the form at the bottom of that page. You will be asked to provide your name, phone number or email, a title, and an organization. You can use either your preferred job title or “human rights advocate,” “civil rights activist,” etc. You can identify your organization as MindFreedom International, PsychRights, etc.

In your phone call or in the comments section of the online complaint form, state in your own words why what is happening to Dawn is wrong. Remember, if you or someone you love have been locked up, subjected to forced drugging, and/or denied due process, you have expertise and you are fully qualified to file a complaint.

Talking points:

  • Dawn is a resident of Missouri and a patient in the Forensic Treatment Center South in St. Louis.
  • She has been locked up since 2014.
  • Her 10 years of being locked up has cost Missouri taxpayers over 1 million dollars. If even a portion of her decades-long incarceration is being billed to Medicaid, this may constitute Medicaid fraud and requires a specialized investigation.
  • She has a law degree and several graduate degrees from Washington University in St. Louis.
  • She has been denied due process by being subjected to a guardianship against her will. According to Dawn’s father, the individual who performed the psychological evaluation alleging Dawn to be incompetent at her guardianship hearing works for Washington University in St. Louis. If this is confirmed, this constitutes a serious conflict of interest.
  • Her legal documents were confiscated from her room by staff.
  • Her phone use is restricted and she is not allowed to have visitors.
  • Her ability to file a motion to terminate/change her guardianship (her right to due process) is being denied because all of her communication with the outside world has been terminated.
  • She is restricted to the ward and subjected to forced drugging in retaliation for filing a complaint against a staff member.

A note on Dawn’s history

Many of you have understandably asked us why Dawn is locked up to begin with.

Dawn was charged with a crime about 10 years ago (Washington University vs. Dawn Dziuba), a crime for which she was never convicted. She is alleged to have trespassed and made threats against her former colleagues at the Washington University in St. Louis. In turn, Dawn alleges that her former colleagues misappropriated millions of dollar of federal funds.

We don’t know all of the facts in this complex case, and the legal evidence that would normally be accessible to the public via court transcripts are notably absent, making it hard to validate information for either party.

However, MFI is certain of one thing: it is morally wrong to lock people up indefinitely on vague charges and subject them to forced psychiatric drugging as therapy. Punishing people under the guise of therapy is wrong. How is Dawn’s treatment therapeutic? How is this consistent with the Olmstead Decision, which guarantees all individuals the right to live in the least restrictive setting in their community?

 

Shield Update for Dawn Dziuba 7/27/2023

Dawn wants to convey her gratitude for the many Shield members who have taken action on her behalf. She asks for your help keeping up the pressure.

Please write to Missouri lawmakers by using the following email address: molegislature@networkagainstpsychiatricassault.org.

Sending a message to this email address will send a message to every single legislator in Missouri.

Write to Missouri lawmakers and demand an immediate investigation of the Forensic Treatment Center South in St. Louis, Missouri and more specifically, of the unjust treatment of patient Dawn Dziuba.

Click here for a sample letter.

Demand Missouri lawmakers take immediate action to stop the psychiatric abuse of Dawn Dziuba. Let them know that she has not been convicted of a crime, yet she has been detained there since 2014, a staggering waste of taxpayers money (A conservative estimate is that her detainment has cost the Missouri taxpayer about one million dollars)

Dawn is being subjected to coerced psychiatric drugging, the removal of her phone privileges/visiting privileges, and is she is being restricted to the ward in direct retaliation for exercising her legal right to file a complaint against a staff member.

You can complain to every single lawmaker in the Missouri State Legislature by sending an email to

molegislature@networkagainstpsychiatricassault.org

Be sure to cc the members of Dawn’s treatment team listed below to remind them that we are holding them accountable for their unjust and treatment of Dawn.

As always, keep the tone of your letter respectful and non-violent. Comments on our website have been activated. Feel free to post your letter and/or email below.

Send a copy of your letter to Dawn’s treatment team:

Shield Update for Dawn Dziuba 7/24/2023

If you are reading this for the first time, please scroll down and read the original Shield alert dated 7/13/2023.

For those of you who already took action, Dawn conveys her gratitude!

Unfortunately, Dawn lost her phone privileges since the release of her first Shield alert on 7/13/2023. The loss of her phone privileges is the latest retaliation against Dawn for exercising her right to protect herself and others from unwanted, ineffective, or harmful treatment. Nevertheless Dawn was able to convey a brief message to a Shield volunteer before the staff ripped the phone from her hands….

When a supporter asked Dawn, ‘would you be willing to promise staff members that you will withdraw all complaints and cease to file complaints in return for your freedom or in return for your right to decline medication?’ Dawn replied unequivocably, “NO”. Dawn refuses to sign anything as a condition of her
release and she refuses to withdraw complaints.

The rational of staff in this latest violation of Dawn’s rights is that “Dawn uses too much phone time”.

Things to consider:

What is the existing time limit for phone calls? Is this policy applied equally to everyone?

On what grounds can patients have their phone privileges removed by staff?

Is there a patient advocate who can investigate this matter and find out the answer to these questions?

Call to action

Demand that staff members restore Dawn’s phone and library privileges!

1) Write to Dawn’s limited guardian, Sean Rapp, who is an attorney like Dawn. Why is he not doing anything to protect Dawn from being forcibly drugged? Why isn’t he responsive to the needs of his ward?

Please note that previously, we did not possess the email address of Dawn’s limited guardian. Thanks to a Shield volunteer we are now in possession of his email address (below), so please remind him of his obligations to protect his ward from medical harm.

2) Please continue to write the other staff on Dawn’s ‘treatment’ team (see below) and demand that Dawn’s phone/library privileges be restored.

3) Contact Dawn by writing letters to offer encouragement, support, and solidarity. Dawn would also appreciate high protein snacks such as nuts. Scroll down for her address below.

Treatment team members to contact regarding phone/library privileges

Dawn’s address

Dawn Dziuba

c/o Forensic Treatment Center – South

5300 Arsenal Street Ward F

St. Louis, MO 63139 USA

Note: Certified mail requires extra money but ensures that there is documentation that staff received your letter or package. Also, Dawn reports that she has plenty of stationary and postage stamps but she could use books, and high-protein snacks like nuts.

 

Shield Alert for Dawn Dziuba, 7/13/2023

Dawn Dziuba is currently a patient at the Forensic Treatment Center South in St. Louis, Missouri.

She has been locked up since 2014. You can listen to a recording of Dawn activating her Shield by clicking on the recording above.

Dawn is an enrolled Shield member and has attended several meetings hosted by MFI. Since she does not have regular access to a computer; her participation in several past Judi’s Room was facilitated by an MFI staff member calling Dawn on the public ward phone whereupon she could ‘listen in’. For years, MFI staff have been disturbed by the level of restrictions Dawn is subjected to.

Despite filing multiple complaints (such as this one) and despite the support of her pastor and family members, Dawn has been unable to win her own freedom. Undaunted, she has advocated for other patients, documented human rights violations she witnessed, even organizing other patients for a possible class action lawsuit under Olmstead.

Up to this time, Dawn exhibited a considerable amount of diplomacy to to avoid forced, psychiatric drugging and maintain what few privileges she enjoys. For example, Dawn has been able to make regular trips to the library, where she studies disability law and psychiatric rights. This week, these rights were stripped away, and she is no longer able to leave the ward. Additionally, after being compliant for years and years she is being threatened with a forced injection of Abilify, a powerful anti-psychotic on the grounds that she is ‘incompetent’ to make her own medical decisions.

If you spoke to Dawn over the phone, you would know that Dawn is anything but incompetent. Listen to this recording HERE of her discussing her ‘treatment’ and why she is asking for your help.

This ‘treatment’ is in direct retaliation for several recent complaints that Dawn filed in relation to human rights violations that she witnessed.

This alert is urgent. Please support Dawn by writing or calling every member of her ‘treatment’ team to denounce the forced drugging of Dawn Dziuba. Here is the list of treatment team members and their job titles and contact information. It is vital that other Shield members take action today, if possible. Dawn is facing imminent threat to her person and we need everyone to take action as soon as possible!

Call to action

Contact the mental health professionals who are on Dawn’s treatment team and demand that they cease and desist from threatening to forcibly inject Dawn with a powerful anti-psychotic drug called Abilify.

Demand that Dawn be allowed to:

  • Make her own medical decisions, including the decision to reject an injection of a powerful ‘antipsychotic’ drug.
  • Change or terminate her guardian to a qualified individual who will honor her autonomy.
  • Leave the ward in order to visit the library.
  • Enjoy unrestricted access to a computer and use of email account.
  • Live independently in the community.

Treatment team members to contact:

  • Rachel Linneman Licenced Professional Counselor and Program Director 314-877-5971 rachel.linneman@dmh.mo.gov
  • Dr. Amy Taylor Medical Director (psychiatrist) 314-877-0522 amy.taylor@dmh.mo.gov
  • Dr. Sadashiv Parwatikar MD (psychiatrist) 314-877-6495 sadashiv.parwatikar@dmh.mo.gov
  • Nurse Practitioner Christian Fox, 314-877-5728  alexander.fox@dmh.mo.gov
  • Murisa Begic-Gusic Psychologist 314-877-5725 (email not available yet)
  • Sean Rapp limited guardian 314-622-4989 (email not available yet)

Please call Dawn to offer solidarity, encouragement, and peer support at (314) 877-5757. Please share this alert on Facebook or other social media. Please email to a friend!

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. “The crisis of psychiatry at the end of the 20th century was not dissimilar to that at the beginning when neurology and internal medicine had threatened to gobble up office-practice psychotherapy and the asylum menaced entombing psychiatry itself in a mausoleum of red brick. Every time a psychiatric disorder is medicalized, it disappeared from psychiatry. (p. 326, A History of Psychiatry by Edward Shorter) Despite previous enlightened observations of pioneers like Phillippe Pinel and Quaker William Tuke, modern psychiatry exacerbated the ancient human problem of existential suffering by propagating the profitable euthanasia program through forced medication.

    Psychiatry recognizes that “psychiatric illness is at once brain dysfunction, psychological conflict and spiritual crisis.” (Dr. Daniel Blazer, Duke University) While neuroscience explains the anomaly of a psychosis (fka nervous breakdowns), other scientific advancements provide a better diagnostic protocol for psychiatric problems such as schizophrenia:

    · Brain dysfunction diagnosed and treated through neurology and Orthomolecular Psychiatry.
    · Psychological conflict identified through the objective, valueless science of psychology.
    · Spiritual crisis resolved through the individual’s chosen value-laden framework (Dr. Peterson).

    IGNORANCE IS NO EXCUSE. Some influential authors for self-education:

    – Dr. Abram Hoffer (https://isom.ca)
    – Dr. Peter R. Breggin (breggin.com)
    – Robert Whitaker (madinamerica.com)
    – Peter Goetzche
    – walshinstitute.org
    – boragebooks.com
    – Dr. Thomas S. Szasz
    – Andrew Scull

    Reply

  3. I just called Missouri Protection and Advocacy Services to ask that they investigate Dawn’s case and explaining the details of what is happening in the Forensic Treatment Center.

    One piece of feedback I have, the number you provided for the action is actually the toll free number for TDD users. The number for others is 1-800-392-8667 and this is the one that got me through to P&A where I left a message on answering machine.

    Reply

    • Dear Allyson, thank you for calling the Missouri P & A on behalf of Dawn Dziuba! Sorry it took so long for me to see your comment!

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