The Power of Peers: How to Advocate Effectively on the Individual and Systems Level

With advocacy skills, individuals with lived experience of mental health conditions can protect their own and others’ rights, combat discrimination and prejudice, and become catalysts for systems change. This presentation, by a longtime national leader of the consumer/survivor/ex-patient (c/s/x) movement for social justice, will cover self-advocacy and systems advocacy skills. 

Joseph Rogers' presentation at Alternatives 2013 - December 4, 2013

PowerPoint Presentation

Separate and Unequal - A Report of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee

After Year-Long Investigation, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin Releases Report Showing ADA’s Promise of Integration is Not Being Met for Many Americans with Disabilities - July 18, 2013

http://www.help.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=909ecec1-4c87-4891-8314-7b35e5316a35&groups=Chair&utm_source=7.31.13Key+Principles+PR&utm_campaign=7.31.13KeyPrinciples&utm_medium=email

Psychiatric Survivor Oral Histories: Implications for Contemporary Mental Health Policy

A Capstone Report by Oryx Cohen.

http://www.freedom-center.org/pdf/oryxpsychoralhistory.pdf

Advocacy Tools

From Families USA: The Voice for Health Care Consumers.

http://familiesusa.org/resources/tools-for-advocates/

Legislative Advocacy: A Brief Guide

A guide to effective legislative advocacy prepared by the Florida Council for Community Mental Health.

http://www.floridasuicideprevention.org/PDF/Advocacy%20Guide.pdf

APHA: Advocacy Tips

Advocacy and Policy section on the American Public Health Association website. These tools provide mental health consumers and advocates with information and tools for effective legislative advocacy.

http://www.apha.org/advocacy/tips/

Online Resources for Finding State and Federal Laws

http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/ - FindLaw's Cases and Codes section contains resources and links for both state and federal laws. This includes resources pertaining to constitutions, statutes, cases and more. Run a search for case summaries or select a jurisdiction to browse applicable laws.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/ - The Cornell Legal Information Institute offers all opinions of the United States Supreme Court handed down since 1992, together with over 600 earlier decisions selected for their historic importance, over a decade of opinions of the New York Court of Appeals, and the full United States Code.

http://www.justia.com/ - Law and Legal information for lawyers, students, businesses, and the public.  Search by legal practice areas and specific cases, among other search criteria.

Mental Health America: Policy Issues A-Z

Alphabetized list of mental health policy issues, linking to information, publications and further resources for each issue.

http://www.nmha.org/go/action/policy-issues-a-z

Introduction to the Legislative and Regulatory Process

Guide to the legislative and regulatory process published on the website of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. Describes the steps in the federal law-making process and the roles of the budget and appropriations process.

http://www.aacn.org/wd/practice/content/publicpolicy/intro.pcms

Psychiatry: Force of Law

Article found on the Psych Rights Law Project for Psychiatric Rights. It details the laws surrounding issues like involuntary commitment, forced medication, and links to other references.

http://psychrights.org/force_of_law.htm