Participants:
Celia, Tracy, Naomi, April, Justin, Yvonne, Alfred, George, Maxine, Kinike, Emily, Lauren
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Next Steps:
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March for next call –
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Work on mission statement and materials
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Reaching out to Black Lives Matter and other organizations
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Flyers/tee-shirts
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Tracy – to send info about Peer organizations.
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STAR – Chacku – contact about scholarships
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Create a letter from NEC to all peer run programs etc. to support People of Color attending the conference
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How is information about volunteer opportunities for Alternatives (registration fee waived) published?
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Create Go Fund Me for scholarships-details to be worked out later.
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Put some pressure on Dan and Oryx for letter to peer-run orgs and state for scholarship development
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Connect with organizations (Mass Action) and reporters in Boston
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Press release for whatever we are doing – start making connections with reporters.
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Create more inclusion in diversity
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Connect with: Can Truong and Emily Wu Truong National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association and Asians and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California
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Create and disseminate a simple, inclusive survey as the beginning of data collection – demographics and comments for SAMHSA, of all Alternatives participants that is done by us not NEC.
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Website Issues
Notes:
Oryx Cohen and Dan Fisher approached Celia and Lauren about helping to support diversity at alternatives
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they did see the memes about boycotting
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held a teleconference with Yvonne, Justin, Celia, Lauren, Oryx and Dan
Celia read from notes
-to widely disseminate a call for participation of People of Color on the alternatives planning committee
- Insert notes
On diversity committee – nominating a person of color to be part of the committee questions/concern is the nomination of people to be on this committee – how is that attempted – if you break out your books from past alternatives and look at the committee it’s basically some form of the same people – how do we get NEW people, diverse people, not the same old people and call it diverse –
There was a process of an application that went all over facebook and email – people nominated themselves – there was a deadline – there’s a lot of new people that no one knows and that everyone knows.
A lot of People of Color may not have seen this, may not have been reached out to, we need individual attention to reach out to people – outreach is necessary – and it is not happening
Yvonne – has been on Alternatives committee 3 or 4 times – put out a call to everyone – either previous attendees or social media – or if people ask – I participated in the process – Always the same people – this was an additional effort that was made by Celia and others to get People of Color involved in the committee
If you have ever been on the planning committee, there’s the general committee, there’s also subcommittees – Teena Brooks and Hector Ramirez – Co-Chairs of the Diversity Committee
Nobody is going to come and give us anything, we have to elbow our way into it.
Celia is Co-Chairing with Oryx the Alternatives Planning Committee. Celia is coordinating with the co-chairs of all subcommittees, there should be People of Color and allies on each of the other committees. Let Celia Brown know if you want to be on other committees.
Create a national strategy for increasing access to the Alternatives conference this year and every year --
Before we started having calls, we came up with strategies about how we were thinking of addressing these issues – everything since Dan and Oryx coming in – because of what we planned on doing – or is this because of what we did -- they saw what we were doing and they were disturbed by it – and they made an effort to try to talk with us – how can we change – it – we don’t want just a caucus – we want a thread to go through the conference, speaking, keynotes, leading workshops.
Scholarships
Support a national campaign toward SAMHSA -
Develop Videos/Memes/T-shirts for Surviving Race.
Apply for scholarships and workshops
Create a letter from NEC to all peer run programs etc. to support People of Color attending the conference
Create Go Fund Me
Put some pressure on Dan and Oryx for letter
It would be nice if those letters would include as many peer run organizations, not a grand scale that don’t have all the money, several peer-run orgs create an monopoly, the list should be all inclusive -- We should be reaching out to people to be asking them to get involved and make way for people to be involved. Not the same old conglomerate peer run organizations.
A letter of what people can do that will help people grow and have fund development and urge that SAMHSA do something to support/educate people around fund development. Yvonne will send email about this.
Create Avenues to Ensure that Keynotes and Workshop Tracks Meet the Needs of A Diverse Group of People
Addressing Racism in Psychiatry
Calling our and eliminating Racism in our movements
Intergenerational Trauma
Spirituality
Racism is not the only problem – but it’s also power
They are not going to see it that way – we don’t have the money, the power, we are not statewide networks, we are not technical assistance centers, we don’t have the power….
Dan Fisher and Oryx Cohen have been making efforts.
I am cautiously cautious about what is actually going on – when we started what we were doing as a group we had specific ideas and strategies around the issues that were happening around alternatives – what we started and planned on doing has been stopped – No –this is just part of the call – we will be continuing the work – one of the demands was alternatives – they’re recognizing it and they are trying to make it better but the other stuff that we are doing, we are still doing – They are just going to be here for a little while.
Maxine – in the past there’s been vouchers set aside that were funded by SAMHSA for people to participate – are there any set aside for funding for this conference?
Very few – 10 scholarships – it’s not enough – They can do it to get People of Color at the conference – pay for registration, hotel etc.
Waive registration fees?
Survivor organizations commit to a scholarship fund? Unless you name a specific number and hold feet to fire about who is going to come.
Oryx joins and speaks on the following:
Scholarships that were traditionally set aside – How many?
Unfortunately the amount of scholarships provided by SAMHSA has gone down quite a bit, recently on 10 – 15 scholarships, so we have had to really try to refer people
What percentage of the overall attendees – A thousand people 1%
Not inclusive of social class
Ask people to pay twice as much and ask them that they understand they are funding a person - to give a little bit extra toward their registration
34 scholarships – at one point it went from room mates to single rooms
IF those 10 people have a single room - - they are double rooms - 5 rooms
Do not know what happened –
Not just tech centers, but state networks -
The statewide networks might be part of the issue with why scholarships have been cut down the way they have
Different tech centers have a scholarship fund so they could have it 2 years in a row – it’s becoming a conference of peer providers vs. the alternatives of 20 years ago – has NEC thought of other ways that you can broaden out – - it’s a good suggestion but it may not be able to happen until the end of this 5 year cycle.
Publication put out each year to help people think about other ways to get people to the conference –
Take on a lot of volunteers who can have their registration waived -- are those local or is it anywhere?
HOW IS THAT INFORMATION ABOUT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES PUBLISHED?
Question about the committee – planning committee and subcommittees – concern is that the planning committee over the past years have been the same people on the committee – what percentage of people are new? Credit is due to your group – we opened the application process quite widely this year – we were able to put everyone who applied to be on the main committee – over half of the committee is brand new and there are 40 people on the committee – we didn’t turn anybody away.
Outreach to other groups with a letter from NEC – marketing/community building committee- to really do the outreach that is needed to reach out to People of Color –
We have all of these suggested next steps from you and it is on our agenda to go over your suggestions and decide what to do.
Go Fund Me – can NEC help with this for scholarships?
We should just start it and get it going – would not be a good idea to have any TA centers, we can do it ourselves –
NEC would be happy to publicize it.
In terms of a bank account who actually receives a bank account – it goes to the person or organization –
let’s talk about this after the conference - Go fund me does take a charge –
All of this is not to let SAMHSA off the hook and that Oryx should tell them that increasing diversity remains a big concern from a diverse community and how it impacts People of Color – budgetary funding for the next few years – increase scholarships – should be doubled or tripled – there’s an economic disparity that is going on – the people who participate in the public mental health systems are not represented at the alternatives conference – they are always saying they talk about diversity – What committee oversees SAMHSA? who is on the committee so that we can lobby them?
Kinike discussed representation of Asian-Pacific Americans, Asian-Pacific Islander, Hawaii (APA/API) is lacking – that there is not representation – this remains an ongoing issue – economic issues, subtle racism in Hawaii – homeless/addiction/mental health – also need to do more outreach -- connect with: National Association Pacific Mental Health – and Can Truong and Emily wu Truong, National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association and Asians and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California.
API – there is a new leadership – the leadership was not there – in CA – the organization is growing.
Oryx welcomed AA/PI on the committee and asked people to get involved – Emily Truong.
People do not have to be on the main committee – health, youth, marketing, diversity, arts are the names of subcommittees being divulged – names and co-chairs that can be contacted – each subcommittee has 2 co-chairs.
To have some kind of workshop on how to use social media – - these are cultural issues in outreach – there is leadership – there is an issue between AA/PI -- where people are hesitating to be involved in a group where there input is minimized – the desire for people to do their own thing other than being diluted.
Include contact information for people in videos
SAMHSA conference scholarships we need more
In 2013, there was a partnership with a local organization – 1/3 of people attended from local area and that increased diversity
Opportunity to get scholarships from your individual state funding/organizations/ priority to People of Color and diverse communities. Committed to making conference as diverse as possible and successful
7:06 Oryx hung up
Comments:
Oryx empathizes very much but not much to offer –
List of other peer run organizations
Fiduciary organization for Go Fund Me
Thinking about whom we may know that would be able to administrate the go fund me account and go from there and then make decisions on how to approach them
Letter to peer – run organizations – that should come from NEC
Surviving Race can have a letter
STAR – Chacku – contact
This year we have gone through a lot and we are all dealing with the new administration and issues that are going to affect People of Color and people who are psychiatric survivors.
We need to have a discussion on what are one or two things that we should focus on for the next couple of months?
To be a coalition with other groups
The ACA (Affordable Care Act) with no plan how it will affect our community
Immigration issues
http://survivingrace2014.wixsite.com/platformdevelopment
Trump and the police state – when he brought up Chicago – the police state is at the forefront
http://survivingrace2014.wixsite.com/platformdevelopment/eliminating-police-brutality
Battle on different legislation – we fight but don’t have solution – Send in what we think intervention looks like – we don’t need martial law - we need solutions –
Create materials for what people need – not just troops --
We don’t have power – what we want to have happen as opposed to being on the defense
Conversations on what is needed to do in urban cities across the country
We should be part of creating the solutions – not just letting things happen to us.
The Stop Calling the Police –
Dallas – Chief Brown retired – working with the police with training materials
Black Lives Matter: We will need to do more outreach and get this information to other movements – they don’t understand what our issues are – their agenda is not ours.
We need to be in these other movements or bring them in – we do need them to incorporate our mission into their mission – we have to infiltrate them so that we are sure that we are heard, because we have to, just for survival. We need an intersectional approach. When we unite, we do better. We have to learn from those movements. Going back and learning about what happened with Civil Rights and Black Panthers – they call them terrorists and is simply not true. This is just like with psychiatric survivors, where people are demonized – people need to be educated.
Very interesting to do a timeline of history, and what perpetuated it was fear - to look at these things as they evolved and how racism was created – slavery, exclusion acts,
They are not trying to do that – they are not trying to include us
We need to learn from the Black Panthers – understood the importance of supporting local and national movements beyond themselves (such as disability rights) the most powerful organization – Mass Action Against Police Brutality – Terrence Coleman – he was assigned schizophrenia, ambulance was called for help, ambulance called police, police shot him -- - join with Mass Action – great to remember history but we need to build these alliances –
Action Steps – while we are alternatives -- what action steps will we be doing as a group at alternatives/being there – what will surviving race be doing?
Since Dan and Oryx have acknowledged our group and listen, and include us and participate in certain levels, that’s good – but our group as surviving race is not out there to know that we exist other than facebook --
Whatever is happening in Boston – there is a tradition that people would march – that we can get people to come to…
We need materials – make it into a flyer/tee-shirts/
For people who may not be planning to go if we are more proactive, it may garner more people to participate – if there’s going to be solid action from Surviving Race from Alternatives that can help people make a decision – it’s not only spoken change but it’s also action change –
Press release for whatever we are doing – start making connections with reporters.
Some type of survey of what they see as a need in changing the system - one of the questions should be, how did you get this information?
Create and disseminate a simple, inclusive survey as the beginning of data collection – demographics and comments for SAMHSA, of all Alternatives participants that is done by us not NEC.
Website issues – printing color is problematic – update site