6/3/25
Update: Shield Alert for Jake Howeth (for original alert, scroll down to 5/25/25)
Jake continues to be incarcerated at Multnomah CATC in Portland, Oregon even though he has committed no crime. Earlier he reported that they moved the date of his forced injection. Instead of receiving a forced injection on June 5th as earlier reported, he received it last Friday. Staff threatened Jake before the shot: “If you don’t submit voluntarily to the shot, we will move you back to ‘Unity Center for Behavioral Health’ which is a place where people go for emergencies.
Why threaten to send Jake to an emergency unit when he is clearly not experiencing an ’emergency’? He is merely in disagreement with his treatment plan.
Instead of mental health professionals listening to his concerns about being on ‘drugs for life with no off-ramp’, instead of fully informing him of the risks and benefits of his current ‘treatment’, staff at CATC is employing ‘substitute decision making’ over supported decision making, treating him like a naughty child, even though he is a competent, intelligent 34 year old adult and the expert of his own body.
The good news is that peer advocates from the Northstar Clubhouse located in Portland, Oregon have visited Jack twice at the hospital since this alert first was published and they expressed a willingness to ask the Directors of Northstar to throw the weight of their clubhouse behind Jake’s campaign. Having boots on the ground, in Portland, Oregon will only help.
Please take action today to advocate for Jake! Scroll down to the Call to Action below!
6/1/25
Update:
Unfortunately, Jacob received an injection on Friday, May 30, against his expressed wishes. He was threatened and told that if he didn’t subject to the injection, he would be taken to Unity Center for Behavioral Health, a place where people are taken during emergencies. He received his threat despite the fact that jake is not having an emergency.
5/25/25
Jacob ‘Jake’ Howeth is a thirty-four year old resident of Portland, Oregon who has been living independently in his own apartment for several years, while under a limited guardianship. Recently, while experiencing an extreme state characterized by paranoia, he asked a librarian to call a taxi and when it arrived, he asked the driver to take him to Unity Center for Behavioral Health where he voluntarily admitted himself.
Jake was held over a month against his will at Unity Center for Behavioral Health and nearly a month at Multnomah Crisis and Treatment Center (CATC) — where he now resides. Both are highly restricted facilities which residents are not able to leave. CATC in particular has only a small patio with hardly any sunlight or outdoor space.
Jakes is in disagreement with his psychiatrist about his discharge plan from Multnomah CATC. Jake’s guardian and psychiatrist have a conditional discharge plan: that is, Jake must agree to be subjected to involuntary injections of risperidone once every 40 days.
Jake does not want to be subjected to monthly injections because his cognitive and emotional capacities are both diminished by the class of major tranquilizers known as ‘neuroleptics’ and he has less control over the drugs when they are administered this way. Jake is the expert on his own body.
For months he has been coerced into taking neuroleptics orally, and he is now under threat of forced injections as a condition of his release from a highly restricted facility. For years, advocates for people with disabilities have promoted independent living over institutionalization and ‘supported decision making’ over substitute decision making and guardianship. We call on cross-disability advocates to take action for Jake! Share this Shield Alert with disability advocates!
Jake has committed no crime. He is not violent. He is not a danger to himself or others, even when he struggles with mental and emotional issues. Jake was living peaceably in his community for years before voluntarily seeking help. This is not care. This is control.
CALL TO ACTION
Please contact Jake’s in-patient psychiatrist as well as his outpatient psychiatrist with the following demands:
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Release Jake immediately to a less restrictive environment.
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Do not subject Jake to indefinite, monthly injections of
risperidone.
Support his desire to safely withdraw from all neuroleptic drugs.
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Do not subject Jake to ‘assisted outpatient treatment’ (AOT) when he is discharged.
Call or write to Jake’s outpatient psychiatrist:
Dr. Erik Turner
Cascadia Garlington Health Center
503-283-3763
erik.turner@cascadiahealth.org
erick.turner@cascadiahealth.org
Call or write to the inpatient clinic which Jake is currently incarcerated:
Dr. Lyle Jobe M.D.
Multnomah CATC
971-346-4718
Lyle Jobe:
ljobe@telecarecorp.com
If you wish to be put added to the list of people who receive shield alerts, send an email to office@mindfreedom.org with ‘Add me to Shield Alerts’ in subject heading. Read more about MFI’s Shield program and our other campaigns below
MindFreedom International issues public Shield alerts for individuals who have exhausted what few protections are available for people who are subjected to dehumanizing and harmful ‘treatment’. While Shield campaigns put a human face on the problem of forced psychiatry and are educational if they attain media exposure, it is important not to lose sight of the bigger picture. In addition to taking action to protect people like Jake Howeth, consider supporting MFI’s other campaigns for human rights:
Legislative advocacy
Elected officials in many states, are attempting to expand civil commitment. MFI, in conjunction with MFI Oregon, is opposing the expansion of civil commitment in Oregon. See HERE for more information. If you want to start a campaign for human rights in your state, consider starting an affiliate! For more information on starting an MFI affiliate view HERE.
Build the Movement to Abolish Forced Psychiatry
We invite you to show your support for abolishing forced psychiatry by signing this letter as an individual or an organization: Abolish Forced Psychiatry Endorsement Form and visit the website www.abolish forced psychiatry.org.
Finally, consider supporting MFI’s efforts by making a donation or renewing your membership. Your support is critical to our continued advocacy both for individuals through the Shield and to oppose forced psychiatry in general. Please make a secure online donation of any size HERE to support human rights or scan this QR Code!
