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 Mental
Health Matters Video
Introduction to TV programme Link
The link above will show a video that Mental Health Matters from Alameda
County USA produced as part of their anti stigma, media work. Rev.
Barbara Meyers set up and conducted the interviews with members of
Interrelate while they were on an exchange with peer led groups which
preceded the 2011 IIMHL conference. The people who take part in the
video are:
All of whom are Interrelate members.
Interrelate
(International Coalition of National Consumer/User
Organisations) was launched at
the IIMHL (International Initiative on MH Leadership) meeting in St
Catharine’s, Ontario, Canada in August, 2007, by a group of
mental health consumer/survivor leaders from seven countries.
Their aim is to
inspire hope and strengthen the capacity of people with mental health
issues to lead national and international policy, and achieve recovery
and wellbeing.
It now has members in 10 countries (United States of
America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Scotland,
England, Iceland and South Africa). It plans to extend its membership
globally, with South-East Asia as its next priority area.
Based on common values, representatives from each country
have continued to develop a programme of work through teleconferencing
and annual meetings at the IIMHL Conference. A website (www.interrelate.info
)
has also been established to ensure that members can be kept updated on
developments.
To
date, members have developed Interrelate’s programme and kept in regular
contact while fulfilling their responsibilities to their own
organisations nationally, without formal funding. If they are to take
Interrelate successfully forward through its next critical stage of
development, it is essential that the work is set on a more formal
footing with dedicated staff time to implement its ambitious plans.
Until
a time where Interrelate has resources, members take every opportunity
to share our ideas. We therefore thank
Barbara
Myers,
the staff and volunteers at Mental Health Matters for all
the work they do and for the opportunity to make this Video on third day
of our exchange.
As
important is the work we learnt about and people we met on other days of
our exchange. Other consumers/service users on our exchange were:
We met
the
leaders of PEERS, a peer-run organisation in Oakland, whose major
contracts are for social inclusion. During the exchange we were
privileged to meet representatives of the Pool of Consumer Champions,
POCC. Sally Zinman and other local leaders in Alameda County.
In
Berkeley we visited a drop in centre which was set up in 1985 and were
shown round by Catherine de Bose and we met the director Katrina
Killian.
On
the second day we met Mental Health Consumer Concerns of Contra Costa
County at their recovery centre in Richmond, before travelling to MHCC
headquarters in Concord.
We
learnt so much and are indebted to everyone who made us so welcome and
shared their inspiring stories and work with us.
Many, Many Thanks to all those not named here who taught
us so much and gave a spring to our step as we go about our work.
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