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Lowell M-POWER'S Victory In Stigma Awareness Campaign
Editor's note: sometimes our work as activists takes effect without our realizing the full impact our efforts have achieved. This can happen when a consumer/survivor sees the example of an empowered individual or group. It can be inspiring to the heretofore oppressed to see an organized community of consumer/survivors advocating for their rights. And when such rights are won through these organizing efforts, it can move previously hopeless patients to get involved with the movement themselves. It can also be powerful to see other c/s/x who have grown and continue to grow in their recovery. In the example below, Don Driscoll tells of how the Lowell Chapter’s Stigma Awareness Campaign ended in victory; many months before most chapter members knew it! We at Lowell M-POWER are going through a lot of Changes. Some good; some not so good. For starters, in July we discovered that we won our Stigma Awareness Campaign last year! The campaign began in 1992 when we determined that patients at Tewksbury State Hospital with full off-grounds privileges were not being allowed into the town of Tewksbury. They could to any other town, like Lowell, or Burlington or anywhere, but not Tewksbury. We were pissed ! This situation was a direct violation of our civil rights! Through years of various meetings with town officials, presentations, protests, and even a show we put on right on the grounds of the hospital, the decision has finally been reversed. The funny thing was we didn’t find out this information until about a year later. We are currently in search of a new campaign. We are hoping to choose an issue which is heartfelt and will excite the members. A solid issue campaign will attract new members and also bring old inactive members back into the arena. In April the Lowell Organizer, Stephen Cohodas, took a leave of absence. Our momentum has slowed down a little but we are definitely not moribund! We are pushing forward with the help of acting Lowell Organizer, Ann Stillman. We are also currently seeking new office space. We would like to find a place in Lowell for our office. Ideally the space would be big enough to accommodate volunteer workers and have a large room for chapter meetings. In the weeks ahead we will need to select a new Board rep who will serve out the rest of this year’s term for the Lowell Chapter. M-POWER is going through a lot of changes but we can’t be stopped. And we can’t let the Consumer Movement down! Hard work and good luck to all the chapters. Organize! |
