Item 2C: Resolution on Mental Health Treatment

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ATTACHMENT B Ron Unger LCSW 1257 High Street Suite 7 Eugene, OR 97401 541-513-1811 ronunger@efn.org City of Eugene 777 Pearl St. Eugene, OR 97401 October 19, 2009 Dear Councilors, I am writing to you as a representative of the Mental Health and Human Rights Subcommittee of the Education and Outreach Committee, urging you to support the proposed resolution affirming the city’s commitment to human rights within mental health care. The draft version of this resolution was first distributed at the historic “Choice in Mental Health Care as a Human Right” conference held on October 20, 2006. Judi Chamberlain, one of the keynote speakers at this conference and a veteran of 30 years as a leader of the mental health consumer/survivor movement, noted the resolution affirmed Eugene’s leadership in the field. Since then, 1000 printed versions of the resolution have been distributed, and an unknown, but large, number of electronic versions. Some of the major email distribution lists used were those of LaneCare, MindFreedom, and the Trauma Healing Project. Since the LaneCare list includes all the major public providers of mental health services in Lane County, they were all made aware of this resolution and invited to comment in various forums. We did receive some submitted, written comments on this proposed resolution, 24 in total. Seventeen were from individuals who fully supported the resolution, two were from representatives of agencies that fully supported it, two were from individuals who “largely supported” it, one individual expressed “concern” and appeared to oppose the resolution, one said he was not allowed to comment publicly, and one person expressed neither support nor opposition but offered some ideas for revisions. The two agencies that supported the resolution were Laurel Hill Center and ShelterCare. These agencies are important because they are the two non-profits most active in caring for people with the most serious mental health diagnoses in Eugene. In addition, the Lane County Consumer Council voted to support this resolution in a public meeting, but apparently failed to translate that into a written comment. The individuals who “largely” or “generally” supported the resolution also each expressed a reservation. Gary Cornelius, an ex-LCMH worker, stated he felt that the resolution downplayed the helpful role medication has played in the lives of many people. A second individual, Al Levine, director of LCMH, stated that he felt the draft resolution placed an inordinate focus on the medication issue. In response to these concerns, a couple of sentences were added to sections