From:   jerry w

To: DGoncz, DGoncz et al

cc: original RRWG email list

Subject: Stone Soup follow up on Workgroup roles

Date: 20071010

Hey Doug et. al.:

This is intended to be an open letter to follow up on some of our

conversations at the event you've created called Stone Soup (end of

month informal dinner time get together hosted by you in a regional central

location) yesterday.  I have been dismayed that you have discontinued

Work group activities and finally have gotten to catch up with you

face to face about especially the issues surrounding the

Mechanical class proposal (don't know the exact title, will have to

look it up and get a copy of the contract specifics for review...).

First some background and review for you and others.  Ever since I've

known Doug over the last 2+ years, we have talked peer to peer about

bike mechanic techniques, and on occasion ridden together (and with

other consumers) in the 7 Corners area.  Transportatoin has been

one of the key areas where consumers have difficulty (ala SAMHSA's blue

booklet Getting There). Doug could be lead in creating a multi modal

bike/motor pool from his mechanical, innovative, managerial and technical

expertise...

Our conflicts in the forming of the CWC with recently MIAW2007 awarded

consultant/dictators  and RRWG rabid advocates and associated followers

and our interpersonal conflicts with the Assistive Tech/EPAT project

has partially lead to the situation we are currently in. While you may have

not started the Assistive Technology part of the original RRWG proposal,

you have stepped up to project lead it into an approved and funded

project in the over year's absence of Karen/Beverly since the

loss of Cinnamon (my original pet therapist) in the Spring of 2006(?).

As I've probably mentioned before,  I would suggest welcoming

back Karen/Beverly and others as a full partner in continuing

EPAT activities as you now have the Mechanical proposal

and other offices for continuing contributing...

Despite what you may have assumed and CSB Exec management

fostered, I have little interest in taking over the management of

the AT project (but will continue to contribute as I am able),

as I have my hands full with the website (that started 6 months

previously) among other personal recovery activities.

CSB management have appeared to have taken sides in our

highly publicized NoVAPeers.pbwiki.com conflicts and are breeding

conflicts (analogies of Lynching techniques applied to consumer

community barring real MH system transformation) to take over funding

and control.

While I like communication technology and portable handhelds

(especially with Linux), and would like to obtain more

advanced hardware and communications devices to stay connected and

online while commuting, presenting at meetings and enabling field work

at organizational activities especially in our more remote and rural Prince

William and Loudoun Counties. I think the CSB doesn't understand (to

the soundtrack of Will Smiths' old tv show 'Prince of Bel Air's' theme song

Parents Don't Understand) the potential power of using of technology with the

homeless and system advocates.  The virtual cognitive dissonance of

issuing empowering communications to a poor person,

(and recovery staff) as this has been a missing link for some

key components of regional recovery.  By using

technology for homeless (similar to its use as a safety device for

those at risk of domestic violence) to report in on system failures

and 'traffic' bottlenecks from the field, a feedback loop on the fatal

errors especially in 'transitions' (Chantilly / Sully High School to

Marines/ college for Michael Kennedy, and into treatment/ a romantic

relationship for a likely autistic AND mental health Cho) as recovery

reporters would be possible.  This could be considered to (by some

process details to be worked out) issue homeless technology to report

in on interactions with the regional systems.  This could confirm/

validate and improve the system by bottom up consumer driven feedback.

For example, the number of calls to look for a shelter bed, trying to

stay connected with family/friends/ providers while further

marginalized similar to a domestic violence safety net.

Therapists constantly tell clients that communication is key

(so why not walk the walk, that providers talk?)...

This also could be a vital link to recovery street reports on a

StreetSense.org like NoVAPeers website project.

Much more details to be worked out in a proposal

created as a deliverable of a Paid Internship/Northern Virginia

edition editor for me at StreetSense this fall/winter and

I look forward to your and other RRWG

member's feedback, as responding to your vital feedback on

using a wiki has helped plot the direction of the website

initial component NoVAPeers.pbwiki.com...

Through our tech banter, you were a major sounding board on tech and

organizational issues within RRWG.  By further taking the CoSecretary

office position/role, and with the recent loss of the other

CoSecretary Sharon L, a serious communication failure is impending...

While many other people like Jayson Blair and some other of the

Replacements (aka second string) plus general community need to fully

contribute and participate, a consistency and transition is needed to

avoid more RRWG systems failures.

Several things have taken a wrong turn in the RRWG process, including

(imnsho) the failure of providers/CSBs to (in good faith) partner

instead of take over and replacing consumers in projects and the

funding consumers proposed and were awarded by the State.  By implying

false hopes and promises on dreams of individual consumers, the county

and CSBs appear to be using our hopes and dreams and withholding

funding as a bully pulpit and a barrier to systems transformation

instead of supporting open and frank communication channels and

partnering with consumers as equals and like backup/backseat copilots

in the endeavor.   The loss of Pam as the consumer cochair is a major

symbolic indicator of the loss of consumer direction in this

RRWG process...

Starting with the initial loss of David O Brien and his friend Russell

Woodman, the demoralizing began.  With the more recent sore loss on

Memorial Day of Patrick Snow as board president of OOOFxCo, subsequent

firing of the OOOFxCo Exec Dir for failure to get a proposal in time

for the RRWG funding cycle, the fallout of those and other nightmares

in our original regional recovery vision and withholding

funding/granting critical projects should not be the loss of your

contributions to the consumer community from the workgroup and region.

Since the Virginia Tech tragedy and previous Michael Kennedy (aka bay

of pigs) the general public and politicians have looked for successes

to balance out the extreme negative media image (think analogous to

the intelligence communities 'our successes are unknown and our

failures are notorious').  This situation might be a relatively easy

remedied to get several components of the RRWG vision back on track...

If this helps to have published on the NoVAPeers.pbwiki.com, forwarded

to RRWG (mis)management, and even to DMHMRSAS funder/ contract

management, I would consider it an honor to facilitate right wrongs to

which you are likely being blamed and creating another consumer

advocate scapegoat.  This might also be for the Ombudsman project to

take on as an illustrative intramural process example...

We, in the region and state, plus nationwide need to treat consumers

better than has been done in the past, and Fairfax County is now

further notorious for it's mistreatment of it's most vulnerable mental

health consumers/ survivors and expatients (aka CSX).  This may be

fixable, before any more symbolic tragic losses of contributions from

some of our most valuable consumer advocates and providers.

Sincerely,

Jerry W

Website contact person

member of the original RRWG (and VOCAL Network) proposal teams

who would be proud to be considered one of Doug's mentors/advocates

(if he so wishes)