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Community Building Highlights
The Illinois Mental Health Consumer Education Consortium Comes of Age
The "Illinois Mental Health Consumer Education Consortium (MHCEC) finally feels more like an organization than a club," says Andrea Cooke, Executive Director, MHCEC. "We had only produced a moderate amount of work until we began to work with other groups. For example, we co-sponsored a symposium on schizophrenia with the Mental Health Association in Illinois and will be co-sponsoring a seminar on the ADA with our protection and advocacy group. We are also involved in negotiations with a local AMI to become partners in running a drop-in center. We have found that these partnerships ease the burden of doing all of the work ourselves and allow us to get more accomplished." This group has also had a goal to increase their membership. They have approached many of the consumer/survivor groups in the Chicago metropolitan area with a goal to increase the membership numerically and in diversity. "The extensive outreach," says Ms. Cooke, "took some effort on our part. For example, some of the Hispanic consumers/survivors agreed to attend some of our functions, but because they never left their neighborhoods and didn't know how to get downtown, we had to pick them up and return them to their homes. The resulting diversity has been worth it because it has broadened our notion of what service is all about." For more information, contact Andrea Cooke, (312) 814-4832.
New Mexico's Media Institute - Getting the Word Out
This spring in New Mexico, Gilberto Romero, consumer/survivor, and Community Liaison Officer for the New Mexico Division of Mental Health spearheaded a successful Media Institute. Its purpose was to develop a marketing approach that could be successfully duplicated at the community level by consumers/survivors to ensure that their message is received in a positive and meaningful way. Thirty-two of the fifty people in attendance were consumers/survivors. Others were family members, professionals and advocates. During the Institute, the group put together their own newsletter, learned about the role of statistics, and focused on the nuts and bolts of working with the press, from writing press releases to conducting interviews. "The Media Institute went far beyond our expectations in all regards," said Mr. Romero, "The participation and enthusiasm of consumers was overwhelming." He further pointed out that the Media Institute is very replicable. For more information, contact Gilberto Romero at 505-827-2695.
Consumer Affairs Bulletin
Volume 2, No. 2 Summer 1997
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