CONSUMER AFFAIRS BULLETIN
Volume 1, No. 1 Winter 1996

Community Building Highlights

The following represents a new on-going feature that highlights a few consumer/survivor efforts from across the Nation. Please send your accomplishments to CMHS Consumer Affairs for possible mention in future issues.

Need Assistance with Going to College?

Check out CAUSE in Quincy, Massachusetts. Sponsored by the Quincy Mental Health Center, CAUSE (Consumers and Alliances United for Supported Education) provides a wide range of services to encourage individuals with psychiatric disabilities to enter or reenter college or technical school programs. Services include academic and career counseling, assistance with finding financial aid, study skills, stress control, tutoring/coaching, and assistance with crisis while hospitalized. For more information, contact Elsa Baldwin Ekblaw, Director of Consumer Affairs, Quincy Mental Health Center, 460 Quincy Avenue, Quincy, MA 02169, (617) 337-2685.

Stars Surface on Video

"Give Me Shelter: The Arts in Human Services," is a new documentary that chronicles the lives of consumers/survivors as they join ranks with local residents and artists for a theatrical performance in their community. The video was produced by a model program, "Give Me Shelter," in Midland, Michigan. For information con- tact Christine Vaughn, Project Director, at (517) 631-2493.

Training Today's Leaders

The West Virginia Division of Mental Health and Community Rehabilitation Services has established the West Virginia Leadership Academy for Consumers and Families. The Academy has been successfully training consumers and family members in the basic skills (e.g., communication; how to chair a meeting; and how to write letters to the news media, policy makers, and other community leaders) necessary to become effective leaders in grassroots organizations. This project is one of a number of grants funded under the CMHS State Service Systems Improvement programs. For additional information, contact Ted Johnson (304) 558-0627.

Medic Alert Offers Voluntary Program

United Self-Help, the Hawaii consumer/survivor organization, is working with the Medic Alert Foundation, the emergency medical notification service that provides bracelets or necklaces custom engraved with psychiatric or other primary medical conditions. Medic Alert has a limited sponsored membership program where anyone who cannot pay can get the bracelet/necklace and lifetime registration with the 24-hour hotline. This is a voluntary program only for those who wish it. For more information, please contact Medic Alert Foundation International, at 1-800-344-3226, or Randolph Hack, United Self-Help, at (808) 926-0466, Fax: (808)926-1651 or e-mail: rhackush@aloha.com.

Consumer Affairs Bulletin
Volume 1, No. 1 Winter 1996