Our Journey Experiences
VERY ROUGH DRAFT
Later partially Wikified
VOCAL Network's First Statewide Conference
August 1-3, 2006
Tuesday 1st - Thursday 3rd, 2006
at
Virginia Commonwealth University (vcu.edu) Richmond, VA
by Jerry W
Transportation:
Given the heat advisories, instead of biking for 3 or more days, camping, loaded touring, etc along a route I'd already toured, researched options and took a Chinatown bus to Richmond, which allowed a bike as luggage and was very low fare, but required an overnight before and after due to the bus schedule.
Monday 31st evening:
Arrived into Richmond at 11 pm, departing around 8.45 pm from Washington with a direct route down I395-> 95. Unloading and orienting. Needing to find an all night diner or something. Explore Richmond late by bike, but much cooler than during the day.
(insert statue picture)
Tuesday 1st:
Tuesday 1st early morning:
Found the dorm and showed up early, asking about an early checkin to the room.
Conference staff were not available with keys, but security allowed hanging out in the lobby, but did not allow sleep by coughing, talking, etc. Later shock comedy included homeless jokes, gay bashing, and many more offensive routines.
Tuesday 1st morning:
A homeless man was arrested or something by local police at the dorm. Officer said he was homeless and from Louisiana? but could well have been one of the conference attendees? Race an issue?
Tuesday 1st afternoon:
~11 am Clubhouse van arrrives at Dorm. Meet and greet new people from Charlottesville, including the originator of the On Our Own of Charlottesville, Paul and Frank . While watching stuff at the dorm while others went to find food, catchup on some early history of OOO in Virginia, starting as early as 1985! Suggest to Paul writing some of the Virginia history down to document the consumer movement. (perhaps in a wiki!?)
Bathrooms and lunch is the first order of business, as people from the van have not eaten while traveling.
Orient to the campus. Offer a second copy of the campus map located overnight as a guide to finding the Commons.
Organizers Ann , Brian and Cassandra arrive with luggage, boxes of conference materials. Offer help unloading...
Checkin at 1-3 pm at the Dorms . Find room, settle in, take shower after overnight without, sleep at most 2 hours, wake and get to conference Commons area, directing others in the extreme heat with physical disabilities.
VCU Campus:
Finding the Commons where the conference was held from the Dorms in a small group.
Several people had mobility issues, there was the heat advisory during high noon sun and these issues were brought to the attention of some of the VOCAL organizers, Commons Information desk for a wheelchair , etc... Later discovered 8? taxicabs were ordered to get accessible transportation between buildings on campus.
Workshop:
New CELT director Chris Owens (a guy), does a experiential (hands on) workshop, which was a good ice breaker. Exercise of building the tallest structure possible with (plumbing) plastic tubing of various lengths and joints of various types (1 ended cap, 2 ended inline, 3 ended T, 4 ended cross, 2 ended bent, etc)... Inventory items to determine what building materials are at hand, start doing plans on index cards, aborted as group Process went another direction. Talk about group roles and process experienced in the exercise...
(insert picture showing our structure won ;-) )
Dinner:
Dorm food, eating with new workshop acquaintances while trying to figure out menu and smart food choices. Meet other people from that clubhouses and talk about recovery, food and other assorted topics...
(check conference schedule for exact program choices and sequence of activities)
Wednesday 2nd:
Breakfast:
Eat and visit with others. Trying to find approriate dorm food. Fruit versus eggs and much other high fat foods. Take some extra bagels (likely transfat loaded). No wonder we are an overweight culture...
Anyway, probably increased the anxiety of others instead of decreasing it, but nervous as well...
Like a seeing eye dog, escort a speaker to the conference building, then released from duty, wagging tail ;-)
Morning Plenary:
Greeting by VOCAL staff:
ROSI Survey by Cassandra
Judi Keynote:
The keynote speaker was Judi Chamberlin, author of On Our Own: Patient-Controlled Alternatives to the Mental Health System written back in the 1970s.
Judi announced that Virginia was chosen as a tech assistance state by the National Empowerment Center where she is cofounder and training director, so she may be more available to the state organization...
(get Judi's presentation slides)
Judi's Question and Answer:
After the keynote, many clubhouse questions appeared to this writer to be directed more to VOCAL than the keynote speaker.
While energized by the keynote, it appeared that many concepts were new to the audience given the likely majority of consumers from statewide clubhouses.
(Received a work-like call on cell, which I didn't realize was left on, interupting the keynote question and answer, but quickly left to the hallway very annoyed and an insistent provider didn't get that it was really not a good time to talk...)
Workshops:
Created a circle of chairs with Judi for her workshop after her keynote speech.
Group didn't allow my questions.
Testimonial by a member on his court and recovery experience, noted by Judi, that it would have been great to have been videotaped.
Judi read some poems (from a palm handheld) at the end of the workshop which I said I would put up on the web...
e.e. cummings
to be nobody but yourself
in a world which is doing
its best night and day
to make you everybody
else--means to fight
the hardest battle
which any human
can fight and never
stop fighting
e.e. cummings
Marge Piercy
The Low Road
Alone, you can fight,
you can refuse, you can
take what revenge you can
but they roll over you.
But two people fighting
back to back can cut through
a mob, a snake-dancing file
can break a cordon, an army
can meet an army.
Two people can keep each other
sane, can give support, conviction,
love, massage, hope, sex.
Three people are a delegation,
a committee, a wedge. With four
you can play bridge and start
an organization. With six
you can rent a whole house,
eat pie for dinner with no
seconds, and hold a fund raising party.
A dozen makes a demonstration.
A hundred fill a hall.
A thousand have solidarity and your own newsletter;
ten thousand, power and your own paper;
a hundred thousand, your own media;
ten million, your own country.
It goes on one at a time,
It starts when you care
to act, it starts when you do
it again after they said no,
it starts when you say We
and know who you mean, and each
day you mean one more.
Lunch:
Lauren stole Judi to locate the cafeteria...
Ate alone and for the most of the rest of the conference...
Afternoon Workshop:
(not sure which day...)
Advocacy:
Legislative agenda items with David Mangano, Lauren Spiro, Vicky Fisher,
& ____ (check program for completeness)
Judi, Ray, Mary Ann, Diane and many more in attendance
Dinner:
Trying to avoid the freshman 20 lbs in 3 days...
Peer Jam:
Evening event with guitar playing by Robin from OOO Roanoake Valley.
One song was the "Happy and you know it, clap your hands" song and other upbeat music which was not mood congruent. I asked for equal time for the blues then the group started creating an Improv song based on MH system experience...
(2 pictures to share, if approved by Robin)
Play James Taylor's 'Up on the Roof' from my notebook computer with tinny speakers, but the only instrument besides the radio that I play ;-) ...
Closed the Commons at 10 pm
Walking back to the dorms late, considering singing '100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall', but not really recovery oriented...
Evening shutdown:
Retire early to check email on the dorm room ethernet connection.
Thursday 3rd:
Breakfast?:
skipped as running a late???
Missing People:
Many people had left, or were one day conference attendees, and I was not able to keep it straight, who was who and where they had gone. A message board or better communication would have helped. Some way of contacting people after the conference as well, if they wished to keep in contact. I had not brought extra CWC business cards, nor announced anything relating to that center... CWC participation did not seem to be a priority, possibly due to transportation, dorms instead of hotel accomodations and lack of adequate meeting time to prepare.
Workshops:
Sampling workshops:
Bouncing between rooms and workshops, trying to get speaker pictures and probably needing exercise as well. Defininately needing sleep, but not going to happen...
Conference Pictures:
Papparazi (sp?) pictures of Brian and Cassandra while trying to get this 'camera phobic' person out of the picture. It was early morning and not moving fast, so be patient for this turtle...
Better posed pictures of Yolande and another person.
WRAP workshop:
Very well attended by clubhouse people.
Offer to take a group picture with other people's cameras (one digital, one disposable), and give contact information for possible inclusion on the (VOCAL) website or at least the VaOrgCAssertingLeadership yahoo group that I created for the Network grant proposal development...
(Note: have not received those pictures)
Frank's Workshop:
Partial attendance at Frank's workshop. Check exact title on program.
Get slides for putting up on this or other website(s).
Remember some legal definitions of many mental health terms.
Notice people's questions not answered and then they left.
Charging camera battery, as low and long day, with little energy left.
One on one questions at the end were much better, asking about MindFreedom development in the state which could be much more publicized by the Network to further development, if desired.
Video Projector:
Report a projector left unattended to the (cute) information desk attendant.
Later talk to the responding techs about cost and operation of the hardware.
InVision? projector costing about $1200 new/ ~$800 currently, differing models throughout the conference center, that one being the portable, etc...
Wrapup:
VOCAL Network personnel trying to get feedback on the conference.
Heard feedback comments about picture taking.
Group pictures:
Tried getting group pictures of those that wanted to be photographed, but most people were more interested in getting lunch and organizers didn't seem to want it on the agenda, even though mentioned in plenty of time before the end of wrapup.
Packing up:
Found brochure items left behind, collecting abandoned table literature information from Northern Virginia and help carry to the organizer's car for someone else's car delivery to owner(s).
Lunch:
In cafeteria before leaving...
Checkout:
At 3 pm. Take linens & pillow down to desk and turn in key & access card.
(Access card would have been a nice souveniour (sp?))
Say goodbyes in dorm lobby...
Overnight:
Put up in a very nice historic inn in downtown Richmond before cheap bus trip back home in early morning. Catchup on phone calls til late, up in a couple of hours, unable to sleep with noisey toilet and unfamiliar surroundings. Pack and checkout leave by 5 am or so. Get some time to explore Richmond in cooler time of the day.
Friday 4th am:
Bike around downtown, til see a bus. Put bike on bus rack and learn bus procedures for commuting in another city. Interesting by comparison.
Diner:
Read Richmond Guide and found some 24 hour diners in the city. Stop at a diner seen on th e way into town for a real breakfast. Try to find healthy food at what many would call a greasy spoon, though the waitress was nice, the people in the neighboring booths appeared to want to intimidate by talking about bike safety, likely most men there were interested in the attentions of the young punkish waitress.
Bus
Sleep on the bus and break pannier with conference materials and bike layed on it's side, rushed by the driver to get it out of cargo on a more crowded Friday (beginning of summer weekend) bus.
Conclusions
Much of the new VOCAL Network organization does not recognize anything before it's own existance, which is a shame, because seeing the Network in context of previous VMHCA (perhaps with a history presentation by some of the old timers?, hint, hint), ongoing work and/or status reports by regional advocacy groups like NVMHCA, Richmond Wellness Mentors, Chesterfield, OOO Roanoke, On Our Own of Charlottesville and many others including individual contributions of the past VOCAL president, grant proposal work which funds all these expenses and soft money positions, mostly filled by providers and generally increased consideration to the consumer/survivor/ex-patient attendees physical, logistical and emotional needs, which make up the Network, continuing building the Network to get representation in every MH program (consumer and provider run) in the state and applying the Network further to supporting individuals towards a common goal would have greatly improved the Network , in my opinion.
That said, the effort and work involved in creating an annual conference is probably overwhelming, and restarting or starting from scratch can be difficult. I am amazed that the Network progressed over the time I was involved in Drop In Center development in Northern Virginia, but also dismayed at the exclusion of many.
Also noted, based on two other state conferences CSPNJ and On Our Own of Maryland (each 20+ years in existence) was the lack of an awards dinner, celebrating accomplishments in the state. Maybe next year, as an evening meal could be expensive, and starting with a rather low budget.
An entire tech team (and where are the website people?) is required to get good photographic, video and recording of a conference, including adding consent / non-consent to be photographed or published to each of the attendees and speakers registration procedure.
Page History
20070201 Jerry
Wikified somewhat on review when considering another trip to that area and as example for better use of wiki, defining jargon with reference links...
20070131 Jerry
Adding Structure, Page Views, etc
200608xx Jerry
Wrote trip report and put up on wiki
Page Statistics
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since 20070131
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