New News
Crooked Beauty
~ From Ken Paul Rosenthal
'Crooked Beauty' is a poetic documentary that explores
positive and compassionate models for transforming the experience of madness in
our culture. Your
$5 donation will help bring these narratives for living with madness as a tool
of creativity, inspiration, & hope closer to fruition. Please check out the trailer: http://www.crookedbeauty.com.
Alternatives Conference
Consumer scholarships available for a national, consumer-run
conference. Scholarships can include registration, food, travel, and lodging. "Creating
Community Through Active Citizenship" October 29 - November 2, 2008 in Buffalo, NY.
The purpose of the scholarships is to foster transformation of mental health
care to focus on recovery. More information is available at www.power2u.org/alternatives-2008
or by calling (800-769-3728).
Recovery & Wellness Retreat
This retreat looks wonderful! Open to consumers from Northern Virignia.
Recovery and Wellness Weekend Retreat For Mental Health
Consumers. Held at Chanco on the James, www.chanco.org, Friday June 13 - Sunday, June 15.
Sponsored by Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of Falls Church.
Topics: Talking to your Doctor, Anxiety: Symptoms and
Triggers, Emotional Regulation, Nutrition and Exercise, Attitude of Gratitude,
Relaxation Training, Guided Imagery and Affirmations, Self Esteem, Art Expression,
Dinner and Campfire, Recovery Movie. Double Rooms with Bath, Conference
Center, Swimming, Dinner,
Meals.
Cost: $25. Call Anne N. Cowley,
M.S.W. 703/354-5104 or email to dbsafcclasses@yahoo.com
Friends 4 Recovery
Program Update for the consumer-run program Friends 4
Recovery:
Chesterfield
County
Number of Consumers:
42
Our program is a support group that is open to anyone with a
mental illness. We are recovery-based
and have meetings the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month, from 4:30-6:00
pm. We also have social activities, a
newsletter & occasional guest speakers. Friends4recovery@comcast.net
CO-OP Point Person: Carla
Mental Health History Exhibit
An exhibit of mental health/substance abuse history in the
United Stated (1770 - present). Artifacts include photographs, books, DVDs, CDs, banners,
magazines, a grave marker, an ECT headset, restraints, straightjacket, etc. Created
by The National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer/ Survivor Organizations www.ncmhcso.org. Exhibit will be held in Maryland. If you would like to
volunteer for this project please specify which task(s) you are volunteering
for and tell us briefly your skills and experience. Contact Judene Shelley 877-246-9058,
info@ncmhcso.org. Seeking volunteers to assist in:
1) Planning, design & layout
2) Setting up the exhibit.
3) Photographers
4) Videographer
5) Create a poster for the
exhibit.
6) Create a logo.
Wellness Recovery Workshops
A workshop for people who experience psychiatric symptoms and
for those who care about them, held at the consumer-run Laurie Mitchell
Employment Center, 6295 Edsall Road, Suite 175
Alexandria, VA. Presented by Yvonne Z.
Smith, Advance Level WRAP Facilitator. Tuesdays, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Call
(703) 461-3886 to register or e-mail: cavila@ourpeoplework.org
Orchestrating Change
Orchestrating Change: Recovery & Wellness in Emergency
Interventions. March 12-14, 2008. Fairfax, VA.
Consumer and Family Scholarships (registration only) are available. These scholarships do not provide for
overnight accommodations, non-conference meals or travel. Deadline: March 5. For
more information see the VACSB website at www.vacsb.org
of contact Kay Springfield kspringfield@vacsb.org
Employment & Disability Trainings
Community Rehabilitation
Program Regional Continuing Education Program builds the capacity of Community
Rehabilitation Programs to increase integrated employment outcomes for
individuals with disabilities. Trainings in Delaware,
Maryland, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, Washington
DC, and West
Virginia. More information including registration can be found at: http://www.crp-rcep.org/
Letter to the Editor
Congratulations to Cynthia Power for her letter to the
editor published in the Washington Post. Cynthia is a co-founder and past President of VOCAL.
Having just read the
Feb. 19 editorial, "After Virginia Tech," I feel compelled to remind
you that, last I heard, this is still a free country. To loosen the standard
for involuntary commitment to a psychiatric facility is to take freedom away
from a substantial number of people. What happened last spring at Virginia Tech
and this month at Northern Illinois
was horrendous, and we
must do what we can to keep such tragedies from happening again. I applaud the
steps being taken to set up fast-response alert systems on college campuses.
And I agree that gun purchasers should be more carefully screened. But the vast
majority of people with mental illnesses are not, and will not become, violent.
As a democratic society, we need to be very, very careful about confining
people because we believe they might act violently.
If the Virginia legislature has
"flunked" any test, as the editorial stated, it was in accepting the
standard of a "substantial likelihood" that a person will carry out a
violent act as a substitute for "imminent danger."
Cynthia Power
Charlottesville
Peer Program Directory
Peer-run
programs are designed, led and governed by people who have been diagnosed with mental illness.
To find out more, or to contact the programs in this newsletter, visit
our Directory of Peer-Run Programs in Virginia.
