Vancouver’s Columbian newspaper featured a story about Cindi Fisher and her son’s journey in the U.S. mental health system. A message from Cindi and a link to the article are below.
I am very grateful to reporter, Jake Thomas, for the length and depth of his interview, and his accuracy and compassion reflected in the article!
There are 3 additions I think are important:
1. The restraining order placed against me for advocating for my son was vacated on 1/13/2014 by Judge Nicols. The court upheld that the initial charge brought by guardian ad litem Lisa Rasmussen on behalf of Western State Hospital was fraudulent.
I have a copy of the legal order signed by Judge Nichols. I was surprised to find out that it was not entered into court records, thanks to the investigative journalism of The Columbian reporter, Jake Thomas. I will have the court rectify that.
2. In regards to my son’s charges of theft, the restaurant owners informed me they had specifically requested the police only trespass Siddharta from the restaurant. The Vancouver police instead handcuffed and arrested him, knowing his record of disability, causing him to destabilize and lose his housing. This was a form of racial and disability discrimination.
3. The voices of those labeled with mental health diagnoses are missing. These are the people most directly impacted by our current mental illness and standard of care model. Their voices are rarely included, but there are many who have been through the system and recovered—sometimes despite treatment—who are the experts on what works and what doesn’t work.
From the local Oregon Mental Health Consumers Association to the international Hearing Voices Movement to The National Empowerment Center to MindFreedom to The Icarus Project to the vast peer recovery movement, these are the voices we need most to listen to.
Please MAKE A COMMENT at the end (the comment link is not immediately visible at the end of the article…wait approximately 15 seconds at the end, and the word “comment” will pop up) if you identify as someone who has had extreme state/mental health challenges, if you are a parent or advocate for someone, or if you think it is critical that the voices of those most directly impacted be featured in public media and have a majority voice at the decision making table.
Below is a link to the article.
Warmly,
Cindi
By Jake Thomas, Columbian political reporter Published January 28, 2019
Vancouver mom concerned about state of mental health care
Her adult son is eligible to leave state psychiatric facility, but quality of care, housing options closer to home remain issues close to her heart
Since November, Cindi Fisher has regularly made the trip from Vancouver to Lakewood, just outside of Tacoma, to visit her son, Siddharta. On a recent visit, Fisher said, she shared a meal with him at Old Country Buffet, took him to a local park and left him with some money.
But after their six hours together, it was time for Siddharta to return to the brick walls and secured windows of Western State Hospital, which as Washington’s largest inpatient psychiatric facility has come under scrutiny for health and safety violations.
Fisher, a 68-year-old retired teacher who has been recognized by YWCA Clark County and local NAACP for her activism, said that her son has met his treatment goals and is eligible for release — but won’t be coming home to Clark County…
Click here to read full article: https://www.columbian.com/news/2019.
