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...
read moreFebruary 17th is a great day for free minds and to remember Giordano Bruno!
All of my grandparents came from Lithuania so we wondered why my grandfather (on my mother’s side) wanted to name his first born with the Italian name Giordano. My 97-year-old mother told me this story a few years ago so I read up on my grandfather’s hero Giordano Bruno. By the way, my grandmother did not follow her husband’s wishes and my uncle was named after the famous Lithuanian Vytautas the Great. It turns out that Giordano Bruno is a very interesting historical figure, mainly making a name for himself by being the last...
read moreReflecting Back on a Campaign to Stop Forced, Outpatient Electroshock
One of the most amazing activist campaigns I have been involved in during my 40 years of protest for human rights in the mental health system, was the effort to stop the involuntary electroshock of Ray Sandford of Minnesota. Incredibly, back in 2008, he was getting forced shock every Wednesday morning on an outpatient basis. That is right, every week in his group home out in the community, he was picked up and brought to a local hospital for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) through his brain, against his will, with a court order. Ray reached...
read moreTo My Friend, Activist Hero Author Survivor: The Late Leonard Roy Frank
Dear Leonard Roy Frank, Wade Hudson, a long-time activist and one of your main collaborators and friends, announced that you had died suddenly either late Wednesday night, January 14, 2015, or early Thursday morning, and all of us in the Mad Movement have lost one of our most powerful champions. Leonard, I always thought of you as one of the early, beat drop-outs, because you were going into the business world after your graduation from the Wharton School of Business in the 1954, but your spiritual journey brought you into conflict with this...
read moreThe Worst Case Scenario for Global Warming — What I Call Normalgeddon — is Bad for Our Mental Wellness: The Chamber of Commerce Doesn’t Speak For Us!
For four decades I have been an activist challenging the mental health industry. More and more I feel that the climate crisis should be one of the highest priorities for social change led by people who have personally experienced psychiatric abuse, and our allies. I affectionately call us The Mad Movement. It seems that almost every speaker against global warming ends their message the same way, that we can stop this catastrophe if society has the “will.” I believe that participants in The Mad Movement have an important insight into real...
read moreThe Worst Case Scenario for Global Warming — What I Call Normalgeddon — is Bad for Our Mental Wellness: The Chamber of Commerce Doesn’t Speak For Us!
Sunday, September 21st, 2014, Eugene, Oregon, Debra and David (on right) beginning to march against global warming in solidarity with the event in New York City. For four decades I have been an activist challenging the mental health industry. More and more I feel that the climate crisis should be one of the highest priorities for social change led by people who have personally experienced psychiatric abuse, and our allies. I affectionately call us The Mad Movement. It seems that almost every speaker against global warming ends their message...
read moreDavid Oaks is Hiring Home-Care Workers – Help Wanted Info!
Updated: 3/24/2017 – We are now looking for subs. While our team is full we often need a sub or two. You would decide on your own hours. We utilize great workers morning and night, seven days a week. You will find the Top Ten Reasons for you to Join Team Oaks as a Home Care Worker or member of the Community, plus a downloadable flyer: http://davidwoaks.org/category/help-wanted Below is lots more info about this job. You may now apply directly to me by simply emailing me about your interest: davidwoaks@gmail.com In fact I may...
read moreDavid Oaks is Hiring Home-Care Workers – Help Wanted Info!
Updated: 3/24/2017 – We are now looking for subs. While our team is full we often need a sub or two. You would decide on your own hours. We utilize great workers morning and night, seven days a week. You will find the Top Ten Reasons for you to Join Team Oaks as a Home Care Worker or member of the Community, plus a downloadable flyer: https://www.davidwoaks.com/category/help-wanted Below is lots more info about this job. You may now apply directly to me by simply emailing me about your interest: davidwoaks@gmail.com ...
read moreSome Mental Health Justice Resources Related to Unitarian Universalism
Below please find a few links for people who are active with Unitarian Universalist churches and the topic of mental health justice. Please note this list is not officially connected to any church. However, I am a UU member who has worked for 40 years on mental health activism. These resources are an ongoing project, so check back later and there may some changes. Facebook group on the topic of UU Mental Health Justice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/uumentalhealthjustice/ One of the main pioneers to work on mental health issues is the UU...
read moreUpdate: My Open Letter to Linda Vigen Phillips, Author of the New Young Adult Novel “Crazy”
Update: The author has replied, and you can read this November 14, 2014 update at the bottom of this, Here in Eugene, Oregon, I heard a radio interview with the author of a young adult novel called “Crazy,” and I hoped that the author would challenge some mental health oppression during her book tour here in Oregon. After all, her semi-autobiographical fiction novel is about growing up in Klamath Falls, Oregon with a mom who has severe mental and emotional problems. Unfortunately, the radio interview seemed to turn into a promotion...
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