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Who will get screened? Why will they get screened? What will happen if they get diagnosed? Are there
other ways to support struggling postpartum mothers? Read more ( categories: activism & advocacyalternative treatmentschildrenFC organizationalmental health screeningsnews & genders ) Judi Chamberlin -- Always With Us Submitted by admin on Mon, 01/18/2010 - 01:54.  Thank you Judi Chamberlin for all your inspiration, your years of friendship and support for Freedom Center, and the inspiration you have given the survivor movement.
Judi passed away. She recently wrote:
I don't believe in an afterlife; I think when I die it will just be a return to the same nothingness as before my birth. I believe that the only 'afterlife' is the way one lives on in people's memories, and it has been so gratifying to me to hear from so many people who appreciate the work I've done and the positive effect I've had on their lives. So I feel confident that I will live on in the memories of many, many people, and that thought gives me great comfort.
http://www.freedom-center.org/we-love-you-judi-chamberlin
http://knowledgeisnecessity.blogspot.com/2010/01/judi-chamerlin-requiem-for-hero.html Read more ( categories: FC organizationalhistorynews ) Freedom Center and USNUSP collaborate on "Human Rights for ALL" Tour Submitted by admin on Tue, 08/18/2009 - 17:13. I'm Leah Harris, co-coordinator of the U.S. Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (USNUSP), a newly-formed network seeking to use the language, framework, and principles of international human rights to end violations against users and survivors of psychiatry and to promote voluntary and compassionate alternatives to the traditional mental health system. Read more ( categories: activism & advocacyeventsFC organizationalnewspsych abusesocial justice ) FC Monday NIght Yoga Is Back! 7pm at 32 Masonic Street - Thanks Somatics Institute :) Submitted by lee on Wed, 06/24/2009 - 15:30. The Somatics' Institute, the yoga space that we were paying rent on, has generously offered to give us the space for free! We also found a new yoga instructor, Sally Morgan who is also a crainosacral therapist to take over the Monday night class. So join us mondays at 7pm. Hope to see you there! FC and Caty Simon Profiled by Boston Globe Blogger Submitted by admin on Wed, 06/17/2009 - 13:19. A blog article by former Boston Globe health journalist and _Side Effects_ author Alison Bass profiles the Freedom Center & Caty Simon. Fairly accurate, and yay coverage, and yay Alison Bass. http://alison-bass.blogspot.com/2009/06/freedom-center-alternative-to.html ( categories: newspress coverage of FC ) Thanks for the Donations!! (And The Freedom Center Does Still Need Money) Submitted by lee on Sun, 05/24/2009 - 16:39.  We have recently received over $1000 worth of donations! We have so much gratiude for the people keeping us going right now! Yet, The Freedom Center is still in a semi-urgent place. In several months we will be receiving our annual grant of $2,500 from the city of Northampton that will help us maintain our programs and we may currently re-applying for our annual grant from the Resist foundation. Right now however, we do not have much in our bank account. Head to our Donation page or go to our Cause on Facebook to make a tax-deductible donation: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/288347 Read more ( categories: news ) Mad Pride in Newsweek Magazine Submitted by admin on Wed, 05/06/2009 - 09:11. 
Newsweek magazine just did a big story on Mad Pride and The Icarus Project, profiling Freedom Center co-founder Will Hall.
Check it out on the Newsweek site here; view a .pdf of the magazine here; and you can also take a look at the art gallery they put together here. And feel free to leave comments and join the discussion on the Newsweek site. Read more ( categories: newspress coverage of FC ) Freedom Center receives Northampton Community Block Development Grant! Submitted by lee on Sun, 03/29/2009 - 13:51.  Yet again, the city of northampton has recognized the valuable services that Freedom Center has provided and has given the Freedom Center additional funding to keep our programs going. The city of Northampton awarded the Freedom Center $2,500 towards helping to maintain our weekly writing group, acupuncture clinic, yoga classes, and support group. All of these programs take place in Northampton and are free and open to the public and therefore provide lots of benefit to northampton residents.
Read more ( categories: FC organizationalnews ) Victory!!! Poverty Is Not A Crime Campaign Succeeds! Submitted by admin on Fri, 02/06/2009 - 01:16.  The solicitation ordinance, which if passed would have de facto criminalized panhandling in most of downtown Northampton, has been withdrawn by the mayor's office & the police department from the Northampton city council'sconsideration and is "tabled indefinitely". Read more ( categories: activism & advocacynews ) Coming Off Drugs Guide Now In Spanish! Guia Reduccion de Drugs Psiquiatricas Disponible en Castellano! Submitted by admin on Mon, 02/02/2009 - 15:04.  The Harm Reduction Guide to Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs, published by The Icarus Project and Freedom Center, is now available in spanish - thanks to the dedicated translation work of Agustina Vidal from Buenos Aires Argentina.
Discontinuación del Uso de Drogas Psiquiátricas: Una Guía Basada en la Reducción del Daño, publicado por The Icarus Project y Freedom Center, ha sido traducida al castellano por Agustina Vidal desde Buenos Aires Argentina, miembro de la Asamblea permanente de usuarios del sistema de salud mental.
You can download the guide free online. Puedes decargarla de forma gratuita.
Go to the Icarus ProjectResources section to download and read the Guide in spanish.
Vísite la página en Recursos en el Icarus Project para bajar y leer la Guía. Read more ( categories: alternative treatmentscoming off medsdownloadsdrugsnewsresources ) Remembering John Brodie, 1970-2006 Submitted by admin on Mon, 01/26/2009 - 12:01.  John Brodie was a Vermont man who died in an encounter with Brattleboro police in 2006 after neighbors called 9-11. At 36, John was already a Princeton PhD and world-reknowned physicist widely published in scientific journals. He was also a psychiatric abuse survivor, whose non-ordinary mental states were repeatedly met with force in hospitals. On the night of his death, he was not violent or suicidal, but was behaving in a strange way -- knocking on doors at 11pm. Confused neighbors called the police, which escalated a harmless situation into a tragedy. John ran away, terrified of the police, and went into the freezing river.
John's close friend Inez Kochius, a longtime Freedom Center supporter, was working with Freedom Center to try to support and care for John in the months before this tragic event cut John's life short. Inez shares her thoughts and feelings three years afterwards, in a society that has still not learned basic lessons of kindness towards mental difference.
Inez writes "To me John did not accidentally drown, he was driven into the water -- by all of us."
Read the Rutland Herald story about John Brodie.
Go to the Freedom Center page for more about John.
(drawing below by Charlotte Clarke) Read more ( categories: newsprisons & crimepsych abusereal paranoiasocial justice ) Press Coverage of the Poverty Is Not A Crime Campaign Submitted by jenna on Fri, 11/28/2008 - 22:18.  Here is some recent coverage of the latest PINAC (*Poverty Is Not A Crime) campaign against the anti-panhandling ordinance put forth by the "Downtown Northampton Business Improvement District". Freedom Center's Caty Simon is referenced in each article. It seems that we actually made a difference on this one!
Check out the Poverty Is Not A Crime campaign page here Read more4 attachments ( categories: activism & advocacynewspress coverage of FCsocial justice ) Yoga Journal Article on FC w/ Teacher Chaya Grossberg Submitted by admin on Mon, 11/10/2008 - 12:23.  The widely read Yoga Journal magazine, available across the US, recently had an article about Freedom Center's weekly yoga class, quoting teacher Chaya Grossberg and FC co-founder Oryx Cohen. Download and read the article here. 1 attachment ( categories: alternative treatmentsnewspress coverage of FCyoga ) Gazette Covers Panhandling Campaign Submitted by admin on Fri, 10/17/2008 - 13:30.
The Hampshire Daily Gazette just did a 10-17-08 story on the proposed panhandling law in Northampton that Freedom Center opposes, and quotes Caty Simon from Freedom Center speaking at a recent protest and City Council meeting:
"It's clear that this legislation does, de facto, criminalize panhandling, if not in the letter of the law, then in the spirit," said Catherine Simon, reading from a prepared statement at a recent council meeting....
Simon, meanwhile, said the homeless and the poor are already the victims of economic violence.
"These homeless people are surviving the best they know how," she said. "Meanwhile, those who wish to stop panhandling do not have altruistic goals in mind - the businesses of Main Street and the politicians that support them would simply like to clear the streets for the tourist trade."
http://www.gazettenet.com/2008/10/17/panhandling-law-looms-northampton-questions-arise
Read more about the campaign here. Read more ( categories: activism & advocacylegalnewspress coverage of FCprisons & crimerace & classsocial justice ) Forbes Magazine Features Freedom Center - New Video Released Submitted by admin on Fri, 08/29/2008 - 13:45.  Forbes, a leading international business magazine, has chosen the Northampton, MA based Freedom Center, an alternative mental health organization run by and for people diagnosed with psychiatric disorders, to be featured as their charity of the month in September.
Check it out on their website:
www.forbes.com/2008/08/28/mentalhealth-schizophrenia-pf-philo-in_rm_0829philanthropy_inl.html
snipurl/forbesfreedomcenter
read the Gazette article about Forbes and our party Read more ( categories: eventsFC organizationalnewspress coverage of FC ) Make a Tax-Deductible Online Donation To Freedom Center Submitted by admin on Thu, 07/28/2005 - 00:00.
Freedom Center relies on the donations and volunteer energy of many people near and far to keep our innovative wellness and advocacy programs going. We have been supported by individual donors, small grants, and limited support from the City of Northampton Community Development Block Grant and Resist, Inc., but we receive no money from pharmaceutical companies.
We need your help to continue our important work!
You can make a tax-deductible donation by clicking the Donate Online button above. It will take you to a secure credit card donation page on Pay Pal for making your donation. You can also make checks payable to Freedom Center/CHOICES and mail to Freedom Center, P.O. Box 623, Northampton, MA 01061. or go to our Cause on Facebook to make a tax-deductible donation: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/288347
All donations are tax-deductible. Our tax information is Freedom Center/CHOICES Inc., EIN= 75-3149780.
Thanks for helping make Freedom Center grow and flourish! Read more ( categories: aboutFC organizational ) Freedom Center, Arise for Social Justice, OutNow Question PostPartum Screening Program Submitted by lee on Thu, 01/21/2010 - 20:28. We are writing to address our concern about your legislation on postpartum depression screenings. We propose that Motherwoman drop this legislation because we believe in the long-run it will do more harm than good. Read more ( categories: activism & advocacyFC organizational ) Hearing Voices Group Tuesdays 4:30 in Holyoke Submitted by admin on Thu, 03/19/2009 - 13:17. Every Tuesday now, 4:30 to 6 PM at the Recovery Learning Center, 187 High St., Suite 303, Holyoke MA
Hearing Voices groups are popular and fairly widespread in Europe, especially England. Hearing Voices groups do not pathologize the experience of hearing voices or experiencing other altered states, instead they ask the voice hearer: What do the voices mean to you? Join us to get support from others with similar experiences! Co-sponsored by the Center for Human Development, RLC and the Freedom Center. Read more ( categories: alternative treatmentscalendareventsFC organizationallocal resourcesnewsspirit & mysticism ) Free Weekly Acupuncture Clinic Mondays 4:30 Open to Public Submitted by admin on Sat, 02/21/2009 - 03:38.  Freedom Center brings you FREE Auricular Acupuncture ClinicEvery MONDAY 430 pm -6pm Quaker Space, 43 Center St. left side entrance up stairs second floor downtown Northampton, MA. , contact lee(at)freedom-center.orgMap to Northampton clinic
Check out the Gazette article about our acupuncture clinic. Download the general acupuncture information brochure about the clinics.
Read more ( categories: acupuncturealternative treatmentscalendar ) Free Weekly Yoga Class Open to Community Mondays 7-8:30 PM Submitted by admin on Sat, 02/21/2009 - 03:36.  We have free weekly yoga classes in downtown Northampton! The class meets every monday 7:15 until 8:30pm, 32 Masonic Street back door, by the Woodstar Cafe. People arrive and settle in at 7:00, and there is time for questions and individual help before the class formally gets started at 7:15. Second class meets Thursdays ay 3:30 at Forbes library, West Street. email lee(at)freedom-center.org for info.
Read more ( categories: calendar ) Writing Group Weds 2-3 pm Submitted by chaya on Thu, 02/19/2009 - 16:44. 
Writing group The writing group is 2-3 on Wednesdays. At Windhorse Associates: 211 North Street, in Northampton(Market St turns into North St.)
Group limit is 10, so it is first come first serve. If you email lee@freedom-center.orgThis group is sponsored by Freedom Center, the RLC, and Windhorse.
Please feel free to bring some writing to work on and share-specifically memoir, non fiction and poetry. But bring anything you want to share, even if it is in another category.
( categories: calendareventspoetry ) Get Involved With Our Spring Speakout w/ Leah Harris! Submitted by caty on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 11:38.  Freedom Center is organizing a spring Speak Out and we want your help! Join slam poet and mental health activist Leah Harris from DC, Caty Simon, Lee Hurter and others. We need speakers and volunteers for this upcoming event -- get in touch with caty(at)freedom-center(dot)org. Read more ( categories: activism & advocacybookscalendareventsFC organizationalnewspoetry ) Freedom Center Healing Voices Video Submitted by admin on Sat, 11/29/2008 - 15:30.
Freedom Center Healing Voices
. ( categories: aboutdownloadspress coverage of FCvideo ) Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs Guide - Published by Freedom Center & Icarus Project Submitted by will on Tue, 09/30/2008 - 14:06. 
The Icarus Project and Freedom Center's 40-page guide gathers the best information we've come across and the most valuable lessons we've learned about reducing and coming off psychiatric medication. Includes info on mood stabilizers, anti-psychotics, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs, risks, benefits, wellness tools, withdrawal, detailed Resource section, information for people staying on their medications, and much more.
Ahora disponible en castellano!
Read more ( categories: alternative treatmentsbig pharmacoming off medsdrugsresearchresources ) Weekly Drop-In Support Group Thursdays Submitted by jenna on Tue, 08/26/2008 - 21:13.  Freedom Center holds support and advocacy meetings every Thursday 7:00 to 9:00pmin downtown Northampton, 43 Center Street left side entrance up stairs second floor. Our meetings are open to people labeled with mental disorders, survivors of psychiatric abuse, and people struggling with extreme states of consciousness/suffering. Allies and supporters willing to share their personal experiences are also welcome (mental health staff allies are welcome but should contact us first). Read more ( categories: calendar )12next ›last »             agness_jacke.jpg) |
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