Free Opal Network Public Event

Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/414424775938010/

Creativity & Mental Wellness

Art for Empowerment & Mad Pride in Mental Health

You are invited to a free, special gathering with workshops & performances!

Where : Trauma Healing Project

1100 Charnelton St., Eugene, OR

When : This Tues., 29 October 2019

3:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Live music with guitarist David Rogers!

Guests via web video on a screen, including standup comic psychiatric survivor Jim Flannery in Massachusetts.

Hosts: Christina Peirsol & David W. Oaks

Free Art Workshop by Scott Parker:

Explore your creativity! Enjoy an easy drop-in class. All ages welcome. All materials provided. No experience needed.

Wheelchair accessible. Sign language if 72 hours notice.

Ask about joining via live web video from anywhere on Earth: OpalNetwork@protonmail.com

Questions about the event: 541-914-1469.

All are welcome!

We especially invite mental health consumers and psychiatric survivors to attend & speak out!

Free, yummy New Day snacks. Beverages. Celebrate the Halloween holiday! Make banners & signs for mental wellness. Supplies provided.

[Bring your signs, banners, costumes to Halloween, Thurs. 31 Oct. 2019, 5-6:30pm Kesey Square. All ages welcome! Theme: RIP Normality!]

Opal Network: A Lane County coalition to support the self-determination, voice and empowerment of clients of mental health services.

Thank you to Opal Network Sponsors:

• Aciu Institute • Center for Family Development • Direction Service • Eugene Office of Human Rights • Lane County Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Advisory Council • Lane Independent Living Alliance • Laurel Hill Center • MindFreedom Oregon • NAMI Lane County • Oregon Consumer/Survivor Coalition • Oregon Family Support Network • PeaceHealth Counseling Services • Sexual Assault Support Services • ShelterCare • Trauma Healing Project • White Bird/CAHOOTS

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Dear Opal Network supporter,

A decade ago here in Eugene, Oregon we formed an informal coalition of more than a dozen agencies that work on mental health.

Our goal: To increase the empowerment and self-determination of mental health consumers and psychiatric survivors here in Lane County, Oregon.

We are planning a fun event for October 2019 for Opal Network.

We have two more planning meetings before this event and we hope you attend one or both.

For a flyer about the below information, click here:

The first planning meeting is being held as part of the next MindFreedom Oregon grassroots meeting, which can be found on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/599661783770501/

In Support,

David

David Oaks

Opal Network

Here is the text from the flyer:

Save the Date: Free October Public Event by Opal Network

Creativity & Mental Wellness in Lane County

Music, Art, Poetry for Empowerment in Mental Health

You are invited to be a planner for this special Fall celebration!

Where: Trauma Healing Project

              1100 Charnelton St., Eugene, OR

Dates:

1st Planning Mtg: This Fri. 9/6/2019

2 pm – 3 pm

2nd Planning Mtg: Fri. 10/4/2019

2 pm – 3 pm

Main Event: Tues. 10/29/2019

3:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Hosts: Christina Peirsol & David W. Oaks

Your ideas & time are important for this fun community gathering. Help plan & join in the excitement!

All are welcome. All agencies and groups that work in mental health in Lane County are encouraged to send representatives.

We especially invite mental health consumers and psychiatric survivors to attend & speak out!

Opal Network:

A Lane County coalition to support the self-determination, voice and empowerment of clients of mental health services. Get involved!

Started in 2007, this free public forum in Eugene is named after Opal Whiteley [1897 – 1992], a famous author with a psychiatric diagnosis who was born and raised in Lane County.

Thank you to Opal Network Sponsors:

• Aciu Institute • Center for Family Development • Direction Service • Eugene Office of Human Rights • Lane County Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Advisory Council • Lane Independent Living Alliance • Laurel Hill Center • MindFreedom Oregon • NAMI Lane County • Oregon Consumer/Survivor Coalition • Oregon Family Support Network • PeaceHealth Counseling Services • Sexual Assault Support Services • ShelterCare • Trauma Healing Project • White Bird/CAHOOTS

 Free refreshments!

Wheelchair accessible.

Sign language if 72 hours notice.Dear Opal Network planner,

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Today is 15 July 2019, and we honor the birthday of the late great Leonard Roy Frank, one of the main psychiatric survivor leaders of our modern era, and a good friend (his photo is on the left). I have blogged about Leonard before, and Mad Pride Month needs to celebrate Leonard: https://davidwoaks.com/my-friend-leonard-roy-frank

Leonard supported grassroots activism wherever you are. Our local group, MindFreedom Oregon, is a state affiliate of the human rights coalition MindFreedom International. We support calling this whole month of July, Mad Pride Month!

You probably did not hear about this call for July becoming Mad Pride Month since we have only told a few folks. It’s not too late for the rest of the month! How have you celebrated this month, perhaps accidentally? Especially, what ideas do you have for next year, July 2020, to celebrate Mad Pride? Do you support making July Mad Pride Month? If so, please contact us, there are many ways to assist this, see Mad Pride Social Media Volunteers below.

Yesterday was Bastille Day, 14 July 2019. One of the reasons July should be Mad Pride Month is that for decades, leaders in the psychiatric survivor movement have used Bastille Day to celebrate the human spirit and oppose psychiatric oppression and tyranny. One of the main activities each year is a three-day camping vigil in front of the New York State mental health agency in Albany. This vigil wrapped up yesterday. For more info about their event, their Facebook link for this vigil is here.

Here are eight ways I am celebrating Mad Pride this July:

1. Way to go, my good friend Rev. Phil Schulman! He was one of the keynote speakers at the annual Alternatives Conference, which has just been held in DC. Incredibly, people are searching for a video or audio recording of Phil’s speech! Accidents may happen, but I call Phil “The Movement Minister” and getting out his message is a high priority. Hopefully, someone will find a recording of Phil’s keynote. After years of leading congregations, mainly Unitarian Universalist, Phil experienced a serious head injury about a year and a half ago. His resilience, love, and leadership are so very important to our movement.
2. Opal Network: Here in Oregon, one of the main literary heroes was psychiatric survivor Opal Whiteley. About a decade ago, we created an informal coalition called the Opal Network which has spoken out for the empowerment of local mental health consumers and psychiatric survivors. We meet every time a month has five Tuesdays, about four times a year, so that means our next public gathering will be Tuesday, 30 July 2019. Our theme will be how the arts can support mental and emotional well-being, and psychiatric survivor liberation. Psychiatric survivor Chrissy Peirsol and I plan to host a round table at the downtown Eugene Trauma Healing Project, 11th and Charnelton, at 3:30 pm. We will have a web video Zoom call, so you can participate for free wherever you live. Interested? Please email us at: opalnetwork@protonmail.com
3. World’s Biggest Sneeze! A few days ago, several of us in MindFreedom Oregon gave a presentation at a stage in Community Village, as part of the celebration of the 50th Annual Oregon Country Fair (if you’re new to OCF, watch some videos of this wild hippie gathering in the woods here). During our event, we held the World’s Biggest Sneeze! Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah… CHOO! We are allergic to what is called “normality” which actually does not exist! Our household plays a simple game you can join: Whenever we hear the word “normal” on the radio, TV, or conversation, we sneeze! The first to sneeze wins. Try it!
4. When society is crazy & paralyzed, who are you gonna call? The Mad Pride Movement! Because of the climate crisis, 100% of humanity is clearly part of the Mad Pride Movement. We are all traumatized by the disaster. We all confront the mystery of understanding the universe. Do not wait to understand it all, act now. Those of you in the Eugene, Oregon area, please join me at an Extinction Rebellion potluck and talk on Wednesday, 31 July 2019, 6:30 pm, at our Unitarian Universalist Church. If you are outside the Eugene area, you probably live on Earth and so can take part in this nonviolent Extinction Revolution wherever you are. The Mad Pride Movement celebrates your creative way of thinking & acting. We are the new PC: Positively Crazy!
5. Mad Pride Social Media Volunteers: To connect with those of you who are curious or supportive of a Mad Pride Month, we at MindFreedom Oregon are creating several social media places. If you would like to assist, and perhaps co-moderate, contact mf-oregon@aciu.info. Social media include: Reddit, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook.
6. Remember Creative Maladjustment Week! For more than a decade, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. commented about creative maladjustment over and over. He even said the world was in dire need of an “International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment.” MindFreedom International produced a guide to celebrate being maladjusted every July 7-14, Creative Maladjustment Week! And of course, this is near the middle of July, now Mad Pride Month.
7. A State Senator in Oregon Wants to Hear from Psychiatric Survivors, Mental Health Consumers, and Our Allies. My friend, State Senator Floyd Prozanski, pushed for two mental health bills this past session in the Salem, Oregon legislature. We Oregon psychiatric survivors/mental health consumers heard about these proposals and we expressed our deep concern. Thankfully, both bills failed this past session which just ended in Mad Pride Month, July! Yay! Now, I promised Sen. Prozanski that we would provided him with civil input about human rights & choice in mental health. Please email him at: Sen.FloydProzanski@oregonlegislature.gov. Please copy your comments to: mf-oregon@aciu.info
8. Something for Everyone! I know Mad Pride may not be everyone’s cup of tea. I figured out that if a couple conceives today, their baby might be born on 15 April, tax day. This would seem to be a great Normal Shame Day, so that if anyone rejects Mad Pride Day they can always be part of that. If your baby is born on Normal Shame Day, do not worry, this is definitely not normal and your child will be a hero of the Mad Pride Movement!

Your ideas, feedback, jeers, cheers, suggestions, support, strangeness are all welcome in the comment area below, or on my Facebook page. Thanks!

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You are very welcome, if you support human rights and nonviolent revolution in mental health, to our monthly grassroots meeting of MindFreedom Oregon.

If you live in the Eugene, Oregon area drop on by to our free 2 pm meeting downtown.

If you live out of this area or unable to attend in person, you can now participate for free via the web: computer video or even just phone.

This July meeting we celebrate Mad Pride Month! Folk singer David Rogers will expertly play a few tunes on his guitar, including “The Thoughts Are Free.” Psychiatric survivor activist Chrissy Peirsol and I will host you, and chat about next week’s event with Patch Adams, MD at the 50th Oregon Country Fair (July 12, 5 pm, Community Village).

I want us to start the world’s biggest sneeze with Patch! We are allergic to so-called “normality.” Let’s start a global revolution for this Mad Pride Month! Below are details about the meeting this Friday: Where to meet in Eugene, or how to pre-register for our free Zoom web call.

MindFreedom Oregon

Grassroots Meeting

Celebrate Mad Pride! Win human rights and choice in mental health!

Join psychiatric survivors David Oaks & Chrissy Peirsol:

Folk singer/songwriter David Rogers will play us some tunes!

Where: Trauma Healing Project in downtown Eugene

1100 Charnelton St

When: July 5, 2019, 2:00 pm

For Oregonians outside of Eugene:

Part of the meeting will be live-streamed online via Zoom, free, starting at 2:15 pm. Please pre-register using this link:

https://tinyurl.com/mf-or-july-2019

MindFreedom is one of the main independent coalitions working for human rights and alternatives in the mental health system.If you support our goal of a peaceful revolution in the mental health system, you are invited! For info: mf-oregon@aciu.infohttp://www.mindfreedom.org

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For several months, my Amazon movies have had a problem: About every second, there is a little hiccup in the video, a short pause of action. Movie-lovers who watch with me have noted the problem. This only has impacted the visual part of the movie, not the audio.

I informed Amazon of the problem using live chat. We provided a bunch of information. First challenge I noticed that the Amazon helpers would often repeat the questions, wish they had read what had already happened. Second, I was handed off to several helpers at Amazon. I think this stutter is complex enough to deserve expert help.

A few days ago, I noticed the problem now periodically extends to the audio. I see that once in awhile, the sound is garbled for a moment.

As I have already informed Amazon, we never have any of these problems in Netflix, Hulu, or YouTube. Also, the problem occurs in other browsers here. Everything is updated.

Well, I will now contact Amazon and show them this blog. I will post the results. After many years as a loyal Prime customer, it may be time to be an Amaznope?

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David W. Oaks, community organizer with more than four decades of experience in nonprofit advocacy, is launching a for-profit consulting firm, oriented towards green accessibility and empowerment.

In 2012, David experienced a major accident, and he is “quad” (or “tetra”) in a power chair, with disabled voice and fingers. With the support of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), he prepared a business plan to launch this business, with a focus on disability. Now VR has given a green light to support this launch.

This firm, Aciu Institute, will help businesses, nonprofits and individuals make workspaces, services, and homes friendlier to and more inclusive of all people regardless of ability, with an ecological perspective, especially for disaster prep. Aciu Institute is already consulting with a human rights nonprofit, MindFreedom International, as well as World Health Organization based on in Geneva.

Aciu Institute has formed an advisory panel with many experienced leaders in disability, business, sustainability, activism, and more.

Aciu Institute is a member of GreenLane. David said, “Networking with other GreenLane members has supported my pre-launch process. Aciu!” For more information, contact David by email, revolution@aciu.info.

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This year, 2019, is my 43rd year working for human rights in disability. Based on sheer numbers, we are one of the largest social change movements in Earth’s history.

Let us act like it now, and help lead a world-wide revolution.

Sound crazy? Well, the odds are indeed against us. However, this is not a question of what can be done, this is a question of what must be done.

Here are three reasons I feel we must pour our souls into this endeavor, now:

1. Creative Disorder

We in the disability movement are extremely diverse. Some of us reject our diagnoses. Some of us embrace our labels. But all of us have been diagnosed as “disordered.”

When society by any definition seems paralyzed, who you gonna call?

The disability movement! The current individual who occupies the White House identifies himself as a “very stable genius.”

But we need instability right now. And not any kind of instability.

We need creative instability.

Creative Disorder! This is a modernization of a phrase that Martin Luther King used over and over for over a decade. MLK repeatedly said he was proud to be “maladjusted.”

In fact, MLK said the world was in dire need of a new organization, the “International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment” (IAACM).

2. Never Again!

Over and over and over again many of us have vowed, “Never Again!” We will never have another Holocaust.

But now scientific experts overwhelmingly warn us that the ecological crisis may wipe out a heartbreaking amount of life and civilization. Humanity keeps heading toward trigger points for positive feedback loops. Dozens of them.

Most recently, scientific studies show that the warming of the oceans may be 40% worse than originally thought. As methane is released from the floor of the ocean, for example, this can lead to more warming, which means more methane, which means more warming, etc.

We are headed toward a wall of cascading chaos. We cannot predict the future exactly, but let us glance at a worst case scenario.

I have made a very rough, unscientific estimate of just the number of human lives at stake.

The life of a species is about one million years. We humans are only through part of that cycle. Basing my estimates on the “carrying capacity” that many have estimated, along with the number of generations yet to come, etc.

Adding this all up, just focusing on human life, I get an incredibly large number.

By coincidence, this number is six million squared. In other words, for each person lost in this six million estimate, there is another six million.

This is the Holocaust Squared. That is the human cost that I estimate is at risk. Not even addressing all the animal and plant life at risk.

3. Extinction Rebellion

My hats off to you for being a leader in the coming global revolution.

For example, I have been active with the group 350.org. I am gratified to see Our Children’s Trust continues to fight for the future. There are many other groups.

There are a couple of organizations that I have only recently found out about, are very promising for a global revolution. Everything that I have seen so far is positive.

First, there is a group that started recently in London with non-violent civil disobedience that shut down several bridges, and is going international, Extinction Rebellion.

Second, today, 15 January 2019, is a kickoff date for a national Earth Strike. There are several more dates over the next few months, leading up to 27 September 2019, Earth Strike! Check it out.

Disability Leadership Needed Now!

In the comments below, I would love to hear your reactions and suggestions. I know revolution is difficult. The first question I often hear is “what kind of revolution?” But even talking about the topic is helpful.

And I feel, that no matter what the odds are, hearing that folks are positive Revolutionaries may help us maladjust to our collective trauma, creatively.

And we are all, 100%, traumatized today. All of us, 100%, are now the Creative Disabled!

Let’s roll!

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