Friend to many of us Alan Arenius passed away saturday, from melanoma that spread quickly through his body.

Alan was in his 40s and this is a terrible loss. He was a brilliant actor and creative genius, a gentle soul who struggled for years with madness, isolation, alcohol and poverty.

His life also soared to amazing heights. He was a very talented actor who toured with the legendary anarchist communal theater company Living Theater in Europe, and performed in The Laramie Project in Northampton. Alan deserved better than these last years, which were so painful for him.

Safe journey, Alan.

With love, admiration, and sadness,

Read the Gazette editorial and the Valley Advocate stories, below.

http://www.freedom-center.org/pdf/1-22-07GazetteEditorialLillysBitterMedicine.pdf

Hampshire Daily Gazette
In Our Opinion: Eli Lilly's bitter medicine

1/22/2007

Front Page Gazette
On Lilly Gag Order

 

NOTE: PLEASE SEE

http://zyprexa.pbwiki.com/

FOR LATEST UPDATES ON THIS ISSUE!

EFF Defends Right to Link from Internet Wiki

Legal Battle Over Controversial Prescription Drug Zyprexa
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_01.php#005058

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today defended the First Amendment rights of a citizen-journalist to link from a public "wiki" to electronic copies of damaging internal Eli Lilly documents relating to the controversial prescription drug Zyprexa.

Freedom Center radio show recently focused on a memorial of John Brodie, who died in Brattleboro Vermont in an encounter with the police. Freedom Center was working to advocate for John with his friend Inez Kochius for several months before we learned he died.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060409/NEWS/604090406/1024/EDUCATION05

Will Hall just received a court order signed by US District Court Judge Hon Brian M. Corgan regarding the Eli-Lilly documents Alaska Attorney Jim Gottstein leaked to the New York Times. The order, dated Dec. 29th, says that the "following individuals who have received documents... are hereby enjoined from further disseminating these documents... injunction requires removal of any such documents posted at any website, and communication of this Order to anyone to whom these documents have already been disseminated..."

 

 

A Chicopee man writes about his psychiatric abuse experiences at Bay State Medical Center; if you are able to help his legal campaign, please contact him via his lawyer.

Read Richard Boxold's testimony here.

 

Posted on Nov 15, 06

More than 300 people filled an auditorium at Mt. Holyoke College Monday the 13th for the "Drugging Our Distress? A Broader Look at Medication And Mental Illness" event co-sponsored with Freedom Center. The audience included students, professors, mental health professionals, survivors, Freedom Center organizers, activists, visitors from Boston, and more. Thanks to Professor Gail Hornstein for her leadership and work making this event happen and introducing and emceeing, and to Ed Russell and Kermit Cole for their audio and video wizardry.

 

We just got word from Richard Rainery, of the Alaska Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education, that the Mental Health Web community center is starting to offer free acupuncture modeled on the Freedom Center clinic!

Will met with Richard and other Alaska psychiatric disability rights and domestic violence organizers during a trip a few months ago to several Alaska conferences and workshops. He was able to do a demonstration of the ear acupuncture protocol at the Mental Health Web, and has been nurturing an Alaska spinoff clinic ever since. Now it looks like it is happening. The clinic will be conducted by Patricia Cushman, Licensed Acupuncturist.

Oryx and Will represented Freedom Center at the annual Alternatives conference, held this year in Portland Oregon. More than 600 consumer/survivor/ex-patient/diagnosed/labeled/people with extreme states (or whatever jargon you want to use) gathered from all over the country for a wide variety of workshops.

 

Trauma Conference Partners with Local Survivors
International Conference Draws Over 1,700

HOLYOKE - The Western Massachusetts Training Consortium played an
integral role in shaping the 11th International Conference on Violence,
Abuse, and Trauma, which was held September 14 - 19, 2006 in San Diego,
California. Alliant University and the Children's Institute, Inc.
co-hosted the conference, which drew over 1,700 people from around the
world.

Arun Ghandi, the fifth grandson of Mahatma Ghandi, set the tone
with his opening keynote, calling for an end to violence worldwide. The

Posted on Sep 19, 06

www.freedom-center.org/pdf/9-19-06NYTSlaying_Deepens_Debate.pdf

Essay
A Psychiatrist Is Slain, and a Sad Debate Deepens
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: September 19, 2006
New York Times

 

Freedom Center is part of the Access to Equality Coalition with Stavros Center for Independent Living, Safe Passage, and Everywoman's Center, working to educate the public around abuse of people with disabilities. The coalition recently produced a series of bus advertisements running on Pioneer Valley Transit buses:

Alaska Supreme Court
Against Forced Drugs!

 

From the Springfield Republican:
http://snipurl.com/oryxaward

Aby Adams and Will Hall of the Freedom Center recently returned from a three week trip in New Orleans, Louisiana, where we volunteered skills doing relief work with survivors of Hurricane Katrina and Rita. It was just a tiny contribution during a very brief visit -- a mental health skill share, advocacy work, some research, a little spanish translation, clinic educational materials development -- a small offering of what we had to share (we also met up with Carey Lamprecht of the Icarus Project while there). The situation is overwhelming, [url=http://www.freedom-center.org/pdf/and there's not much to be optimistic about politically and economically.

 

The article is full of unexamined assumptions and misleading information, but represents a recognition by the mainstream press that the pro-medication consensus doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Significantly, John Bola's study is not new -- it just has taken years to finally get published because of the way it defies the party line.

www.freedom-center.org/pdf/NYT3-21-06AreSchizophreniaDrugsAlwaysNeeded.html

Revisiting Schizophrenia: Are Drugs Always Needed?

By BENEDICT CAREY
New York Times Published: March 21, 2006

Easy access to acupunture, Freedom Center in Northampton offers free treatments

BY MALIA POLITZER
Hampshire Daily Gazette 3-7-06

Above, acupuncturist Barbara Weinberg, who provides treatments during weekly group sessions in Northampton, works on Melissa Flynn of Easthampton.

WHEN 28-year-old Jenafer Andren of Northampton began acupuncture treatments, she wasn't convinced that sticking needles in her ears could help her with insomnia.

 

The Freedom Center has initiated a campaign to end mental health screenings in MA to contribute to the nation-wide movement of opposition to screening programs.

Campaign Overview

On July 26 2004 the Bush Administration’s New Freedom Commission publicly announced its goal to screen every American for a mental disorder with priority being given to school children. The announcement generated an enormous backlash due to its overt sponsorship and resulting benefits for the pharmaceutical industry and a number of national and international grassroots organizations have mobilized to oppose the recommendation’s implementation.