Disability Activist Asks You to Find Experts to “Amplify His Voice”
News Release – 26 September 2015
David Oaks Psychiatric Survivor Quad Plans to be a Public Speaker, Again
Oaks Hopes “Project Amplify Us” Will Help Others Facing Similar Disabilities
After nearly four decades of activism, mainly for human rights in mental health, David Oaks experienced a big fall and broken neck 33 months ago that put him in a powerchair with a label of “quad” and a number of new challenges, such as an impairment to one of his vocal folds.
Now, with the help of his brother Tony and others, he has launched a campaign to find the best experts to overcome his complex communications barriers. His goal is to once more become a professional public speaker.
Below, you can view the Project Amplify Us online 19-slide show with links to short videos, followed by Frequently Asked Questions:
View The Project Amplify Us Slide Show Here:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Project Amplify Us
How Can I Help?
Forward this news release about Project Amplify Us to any individual or group who you think might help. This Project is looking for the best resource people! Help surface them.
Are You a Potential Resource Person?
If you might be one of the experts who can address these challenges, let the Project know now: davidwoaks@gmail.com Say a little about yourself. There is no obligation.
What If I Have Ideas and Encouragement Now?
While this Project is not trying to solve everything at once, it would be nice to share your ideas and maybe help others too! You may post about Project Amplify here:
- On this blog you may leave a public comment.
- Search in Facebook for a new public group: ProjectAmplifyUs
- Watch for a Reddit sub group in the near future: ProjectAmplifyUs
- Of course, this Project is using this hashtag on twitter: #ProjectAmplifyUs
What If I Have Trouble Viewing the Slide Show?
The Project can email you the show. Contact the Project at: davidwoaks@gmail.com
Is There Any Financial Obligation?
This Project is totally for free, with no costs for anyone to participate. If you would like to donate to the David W. Oaks Irrevocable Trust, please go here.
Read MorePsychiatric Survivor Disability Activist Launches Fun Contest: “Help Me Go Viral!”
Updated 21 September 2015:
Please feel free to post a selfie of you sticking out your tongue (known as a Qsign face) to Facebook, Twitter, or both. Please add the hashtag #qsigncrisis to whatever you post wherever. If you post to Facebook, please add your selfie to my Timeline! (If you are not yet a friend, please email me with your Facebook name at: davidwoaks@gmail.com.)
You are invited to take a selfie doing a “Qsign,” which I will explain in a moment. But first I need to beg for your help, especially if you are one of these young whippersnappers. You see, this week, September 16th, I will turn 60 years old, and I have never been able to start something online that goes viral.
A few weeks ago, I developed pneumonia. My wife and I had to wait in the emergency room for six hours to get an x-ray. To pass the time and show our frustration in a fun way, we stuck out our tongues to the side and took this photo. Later, a person who worked for many years as an ER nurse told us that we showed an actual face that they watch for in the ER as a sign of distress. The face is called the “Qsign” because the tongue sticks out at an angle, which kind of looks like a Q.
So I would like to ask you to take a selfie of you and maybe your loved ones, doing a Qsign. Why?
- The planet is one big emergency room, but our leaders are ignoring things like the climate crisis. The least we can do is all show our Qsigns, and maybe that will get our leaders’ attention?
- Hey, I am about to enter my 60’s, and I have spent decades working for human rights in disability, specifically mental health. Come on, show your appreciation, dammit!
- You can post your photo on Twitter like we did using the new hashtag #qsigncrisis
- I actually went viral by having pneumonia which I have recovered from. Now I am simply asking you to metaphorically go viral, which sounds a lot healthier. If you want to read about my pneumonia, go here.
- Showing your Qsign just is not normal! Since what is mistakenly called normal has some of the worst behavior ever to visit Earth, then your Qsign is a blessing!
- A group of us had a little contest to see who could make the best Qsign and my friend Dale won. Maybe this contest will go global and be the start of a game that will save the world. I have a name for this: Ultimate Wacko!
Protected: And so you might visit David W. Oaks? Great!
Remembering My Mom: Violet Oaks 3/29/1917 – 3/19/2015
This past Thursday, we got some very sad news, that my Mother died at the age of 97. Eleven years ago, I helped move my Mom from her Chicago home to here in Eugene, where she lived in an active retirement center. I helped take care of her, but after my bad fall, my brother and my wife have done so much to help take care of my wonderful Mom, who has always been so loving, ethical, upbeat, helpful.
Below is an obituary prepared by my family:
Violet Oaks Obituary:
Beloved sister, wife, mother, grandmother and aunt Violet Elizabeth Oaks (née Stonis) passed away on March 19, 2015, at 97 years of age.
Born in Rockford, Illinois on March 29, 1917, Violet is preceded in death by parents Anton and Mary (Armin) Stonis; and by brothers Vito, Algert, and Albert. She is survived by sister Nancy Corcoran of Des Plaines, Illinois.
Violet was a resident of Chicago, Illinois for nearly eight decades before relocating to Eugene, Oregon in 2009. It was there on Chicago’s South Side that she married her late husband, Anthony T. Oaks and raised her two surviving sons Anthony Oaks of Houston, Texas and David Oaks of Eugene, Oregon. Violet was also a cherished mother-in-law to Charlene Paulus Oaks and Debra Nuñez as well as grandmother to Sarah, Anthony, John, and Eleanor Oaks.
Violet will be remembered for her brilliance and meticulousness, as well as her lifelong appreciation of her Lithuanian heritage, angel and bluebird tchotchkes, crossword puzzles, pinochle, travel, good food and drink, and, true to her name, flowers.
A celebration of life will take place at the 2nd floor lounge of the Eugene Hotel (222 E. Broadway, Eugene, OR, 97401) at 2 p.m. on March 28, 2015. A memorial and burial will follow in Chicago at the Lithuanian National Cemetery with details to be announced at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made towards the care of son, David. Checks can be sent directly to: David W. Oaks Irrevocable Trust, c/o Chase Bank, 1100 Willamette St., Eugene, OR, 97401.
Please visit and post your memory at this online memorial site created by our family:
http://www.forevermissed.com/violet-elizabeth-oaks
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