Disability Rights California - Peer/self-Advocacy Unit Statement

Peer/Self-Advocacy Unit (PSA)

2010 - 2009 - 2008 - 2006 -

2010 PSA Project Highlights

The Peer/Self-Advocacy Unit conducts ongoing self-advocacy groups, outreaches and workshops throughout the state. In 2009, we facilitated 34 self-advocacy groups with 858 meetings at various Institutes of Mental Disease (IMD), state hospitals, board and care homes, and in the community. We covered 15 different topics and served over 2000 individuals in these groups. We also presented 26 workshops on 11 different topics, with 357 individuals participating, and 15 outreaches with 1125 individuals in attendance to inform people in the community about Disability Rights California and PSA services. In all, the PSA served almost 4000 individuals this year, distributing 28 different publications.

The PSA translated 7 different materials into Spanish and developed 7 new materials for the PSA materials library for use in self-advocacy trainings. PSA staff also monitored Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) activities in over 4 different counties, and our program won a contract for providing self-advocacy services in Sonoma County which was extended through 2009. In addition, our staff attended and provided trainings at the California Network of Mental Health Client’s Forum in Foster City, the Patients’ Rights Advocacy Training in Sacramento, the Alternatives Conference in Omaha, Nebraska, and Disability Rights California’s All-Staff Training in Sacramento.

Patton State Hospital Library Project

With assistance from PSA staff member Garnet Magnus, self-advocacy group members at Patton State Hospital are working on a project to expand and develop a Peer Self-Advocacy Section in all 3 Resident Libraries.  Updated Disability Rights California, PSA, and other self-help publications will be made available, in addition to the final version of the Peer-Advocacy Resource Manual. On an ongoing basis, the PSA facilitator and group members will monitor the library materials and update publications as needed.  This is yet another way that DRC and PSA staff continues to provide the best quality peer-support services to the forensic residents at Patton.

PSA Provides Cultural Sensitivity Training to Disability Rights California’s Los Angeles staff:

Following a request for a cultural sensitivity training for LA office staff, members of the PSA Program facilitated discussion and understanding of issues that may arise in our work with clients with various cultural backgrounds and disabilities.  Three role-play scenarios and some audience-participation games were presented, including an exercise that gave participants first-hand experience of what it is like to experience auditory hallucination.  Another exercise demonstrated the challenges met by clients and staff who do not speak the same language.  In addition, participants learned about the importance of sensitivity and awareness in working with people who are transgendered.  As a result of the training, DRC staff learned important information and skills in cultural and disability competency to help them in providing clients with quality advocacy services.

PSA Staff Member Receives Reward

A PSA staff member, Rosy Tellez, was nominated and presented an award from S.H.A.R.E., an agency that provides self-advocacy services in the Los Angeles area, for her efforts to teach self-advocacy knowledge and skills  to people in the monolingual Spanish-speaking community.  This honor was bestowed upon her for her work facilitating self-advocacy groups and presenting outreaches and workshops throughout the Los Angeles area.  Her work demonstrates the importance of providing and increasing awareness of self-advocacy services.

California Memorial Project Remembrance Ceremonies

Camarillo:

Spearheaded by the efforts of Camarillo resident and volunteer Laura Rasey Miller and PSA staff members Robyn Gantsweg and Senobia Pichardo, the first annual CMP Remembrance Day Ceremony was held on the former grounds of Camarillo State Hospital.  Over 100 people attended this evening event.  Guest speakers included Harriet Weigel, from ARC-Ventura, and 2 former residents of Camarillo State Hospital, Celinda Jungheim and Vernon Montoya, who spoke of their personal experiences while living at the institution. 

A poem by a local poet was recited and a young girl with a developmental disability sang a song, accompanied by a guitarist, and after a moment of silence, participants all watched as balloons were released and floated toward the moonlit sky.  A series of 3 articles in the “Ventura County Star” provided history and information about the project and a positive follow-up report about the ceremony.  This event marked the first time that the PSA Program was successful in coordinating a Remembrance Ceremony in Camarillo along with the other ceremonies held at various sites throughout the state.  As a result of an official proclamation by the State of California, the 3rd Monday of September will now be recognized as “California Remembrance Day.”

Napa State Hospital:

For the first time since Remembrance Days have been held, PSA staff member Debi Davis helped coordinate a Remembrance Day Ceremony at Napa State Hospital's secured treatment area for individuals who are forensically committed. About 15 residents and two staff of NSH attended. An individual played the flute, another played a keyboard and several people read poems remembering friends who died at Napa. There was a minute of silence to remember and honor people who died in institutions. At the end of the ceremony, a person played the guitar and refreshments were served. As a result, Napa residents who were confined to the secure treatment area were able to participate in the ceremony to honor their comrades.  These residents have also been benefiting from the assistance provided by law students who meet with them at the self-help office every other week.

PSA Groups Continue to Grow and Prosper

A clear indicator that PSA self-advocacy groups are helping participants to achieve their own goals, attendance has been steadily increasing at the Crestwood Treatment Center and the NVCSS Second Home in Redding and the Crestwood Center in Sacramento.  Led by PSA staff facilitators Mark Olberg and Lou Williamson, the groups have discussed a variety of topics, including Patient’s Rights, LPS Conservatorship, the History of the Consumer/Survivor Movement and Discharge Planning.  As a result, several people are scheduled for discharge into the community. 

Crisis Prevention Skills Help People who are Homeless

Working with self-advocacy group members in “La Hora del Café,” we taught advocacy skills, rights, and knowledge that they could use to prevent or avoid crises. Most of the group members are homeless. Learning about the early warning signs and triggers of potential crises helps members anticipate and avoid them before they happen. For instance, in the winter, many group members seek shelter from the cold by staying in homeless shelters. With more than 20 people staying in one room, there can be many stressful situations because they share personal space and very limited resources with people they do not know. Conflicts may arise over personal belongings or the use of facility resources. Shelters have strict rules for people who stay there, and if people do not follow them, they risk denial of access to services. Therefore, knowing service rights in shelters as well as how to recognize, identify, prevent, and respond effectively in a crisis is essential to receive needed basic services and take care of oneself.

Outreach and Collaborative Efforts Serve the Needs of the Client Community

In our efforts to provide self-advocacy services throughout the community, we attended and networked at various conferences to identify the needs of consumers so we can provide our peer self-advocacy services to those who most need them.

At Alternatives, a national consumer conference, and a Latino conference put on by Wall Las Memorias, we made contacts that will allow us to provide future peer self-advocacy groups and workshops to the Spanish-speaking population in Orange County and other areas.

We provided workshops on cross disability issues at various client and consumer agencies, such as the South Bay Wellness Center in Los Angeles.

Northern Valley Catholic Social Services Second Home and the Crestwood Treatment Center in Redding

Group topics and discussions have revolved around such topics as patients’ rights and work incentives. One group member through self-advocacy has been discharged to a board–and-care in Redding. She can now rejoin the community.

Materials Library Expands with New Spanish-Language Resources

Peer self-advocacy materials now include self-advocacy training materials in Spanish so we can better reach out to people from diverse and language-distinct communities. With these additions, Spanish-speaking groups have access to customized materials that cover a broad range of topics specific to Spanish speakers.