One thing I have noticed once I embarked on my advocating journey is that there are a lot of groups, organizations, people, all doing the same work, but they are not "One Voice." They are a lot of voices all saying the same thing and accepting little wins here and there rather than looking at the bigger picture. I see a bigger picture and I hope others see it too. There hasn't been a legitimate civil rights movement in regards to disabilities since 1974.
I think if all of these wonderful organizations teamed up together we could fight for bigger wins rather than the small ones that everyone just settles for. I see this as a human issue, and yes I know its easy to say as a white man, however it is a human issue, with disproportionate rates of black and brown people being placed on holds. Mental Health and Mental Illness do not discriminate against any demographic, we all know someone with a mental illness, statistically is 1 out of 2 people should have one.
I think we need to focus uniting as many organizations, people with lived experience, advocates, lawyers, reporters, politicians, and anyone else on a HUMAN level and demand systemic change that can actually fix all of the problems at once to include issues like the disproportionate amount of black and brown people that are forced into treatment, proper funding for all types of treatments rather than pills, make hospital policies all "RIGHTS" based, fight for a full systemic reformation rather than settling for small victories here and there. The more of us saying the same thing, the louder the message is.
If organized and done properly we can effect change without protest, without violence, without anything other than UNITY, and if they refuse well we vote anyone who refuses out of office, from the local level all the way to the federal government.
Dr. King inspired a whole movement and united people from all across the world. Then in the 1970's we had a movement for people with disabilities, then the 90's we got the Americans with Disability Act, and since then we have been kind of stagnant. We need to find the Dr. King of this era who can unite and willing to lead a movement, but for mental illness and mental health. The great thing is all of us have the ability to lead with in us at different times, as well as know how to follow. If you are interested in joining the national coalition I am part of, reach out. We are still in our infancy and creating our framework to drive our vision, but we need allies.
Do you know how everyone in America is connected to Tupac Shakur? His mother Afeni Shakur, helped establish the first Patient Bill of Rights, and if you have ever received any sort of medical care, you can say thank you to her for taking a stand.
Thank you,
Mikey