ECOLOGY OF MIND MIND-ING ECOLOGY

MindFreedom International News - 27 January 2009

http://www.mindfreedom.org

    Another involuntary outpatient "maintenance"

    electroshock for Ray Sandford is scheduled

    for tomorrow, 28 January 2009.

    How you may easily and peacefully protest

    from wherever you are.

Unless there is a miracle, it is confirmed that Ray Sandford is

having another involuntary electroshock tomorrow, Wednesday, 28

January 2009, just north of Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, all funded

by taxpayer dollars.

After more than three dozen forced electroshocks, Ray knows the drill.

Tonight, staff will prepare by removing all of Ray's food from his

mini-fridge in his basement room in a small assisted living home

called "Victory House" in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. This is

because Ray is not supposed to eat for a number of hours before

anesthesia is administered.

Early tomorrow morning Ray will be woken up extra early, and an

escort will bring Ray the 15 miles north on streets near the

Mississippi River to Mercy Hospital, in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.

Ray's mental health workers always manages to find an escort for

Ray's forced electroshocks or psychiatrist visits.

On the other hand, a few days ago Ray said he had to miss a dental

appointment that was supposed to help with his severe teeth problems,

because no attendant could be found that day.

Since Ray's campaign started, an attendant is required to accompany

Ray any time he leaves his home. MindFreedom volunteers have been

banned from visiting. One such visitor, a disability advocate, even

had her employment threatened after Ray's "helpers" filed a complaint

with her employer for bringing Ray to a Minnesota center for

independent living for people with disabilities.

Ray says the waiting room of his electroshock doctor, Bernard M.

Coelho, MD, at Mercy Hospital is often full with about 10 patients

who Ray believes are also scheduled for electroshock. Giving multiple

electroshocks on the same morning is a common practice, sometimes

called a "Shock Mill," and can be very lucrative. Mercy Hospital is

owned by Allina Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota.

Ray will lay in a bed and feel an injection as anesthesia and a

muscle paralyzer are administered to suppress muscle writhing. Ray

says Dr. Coelho will then run electricity through Ray's brain,

inducing a convulsion.

Ray calls the MindFreedom office almost every day, including just

before and just after his forced electroshocks. He says forced shock

is always scary, that it's harming his memory and ability to

concentrate more and more.

Ray is asking us all to peacefully protest his forced electroshock.

The nightmare of involuntary electroshock over the expressed wishes

of the subject has happened regularly since the very first

electroshock in Italy in 1937. But now the atrocity of forced

electroshock has climbed over the institutional walls, and is out in

our towns and cities, in our neighborhoods and homes.

Do not let this become "normal."

Do not wait to see your neighbor escorted out into some early winter

morning for this.

Do not wait for that to be you.

MindFreedom reminds everyone that Ray's campaign is nonviolent. Ray

values his religious principles, and MindFreedom has strict

nonviolence guidelines.

If you communicate with any potential opponent, please be strong but

civil. Anything else can be used against Ray.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are a few easy ways you may protest Ray's electroshock from

wherever you are:

Please forward this alert far and wide.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    *** ACTION *** ACTION *** ACTION ***

1) Protest to Richard Pettingill, Chief executive officer (CEO) of

Allina Hospital and Clinics:

Ask that your civil verbal protest be placed in Ray Sandford's

medical record using their online web form:

http://www.allina.com/ahs/help.nsf/page/contact

Sample message (your own words are best):

"Dear Mr. Richard Pettingill:

"I request that my message be placed in the permanent medical record

of your patient Ray Sandford, who states that he is receiving ongoing

involuntary electroshock at Mercy Hospital administered by Allina

psychiatrist Bernard M Coelho, MD.

"While you cannot violate the privacy of a patient, I ask that you

respond in general about your policy of allowing involuntary

electroshock over the expressed wishes of the subject.

"Whether or not you feel this is legal, it is unethical, immoral and

traumatic to everyone in mental health care.

"The reason(s) I protest this forced electroshock are:

"My name and contact information: _______"

You may also try to phone Mr. Richard Pettingill's office at

612-262-0601 or 612-262-5000.

You may try to leave a phone message for Dr. Coelho at the above

numbers, or at Mercy at 763-236-6000, but the phone number listed for

him on the Allina web site is now disconnected, even though he still

works there. If you are disconnected, call back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2) Bishop Mark Hanson of the Lutheran Church

While the Lutheran Church is not directly in charge of Ray's

electroshock, they are supposed to help "guard" Ray, they are

supposed to care deeply about social justice, yet they are not

supporting Ray's campaign to end his forced electroshock.

The six Minnesota Synods of the "Evangelical Lutheran Church in

America" [ELCA] -- which is the largest Lutheran denomination in the

USA -- own Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota [LSSMN], which is

Ray's court-appointed general guardian.

ELCA and LSSMN have refused to speak out for Ray.

MindFreedom has been in touch with the office of Bishop Mark Hanson,

who leads ELCA. Bishop Hanson asked Ruth Reko, ELCA's Director of

Social Ministry Department, to respond to MFI. Today, Ms. Reko told

MindFreedom, "Supervision is not a concept we enter into with

affiliates like LSSMN or our 299 other social service agency

affiliates."

Please ask Bishop Mark Hanson, to encourage ELCA, its Synods and its

agencies to engage in productive dialogue on human rights and mental

health, especially involuntary electroshock.

Please e-mail to Bishop Mark Hanson here:

bishop@elca.org

Sample message (your own words are best):

"Dear Bishop Hanson:

"Please engage in dialogue about human rights and mental health. I am

not saying ELCA is directly in charge of anyone's forced

electroshock, but ELCA could take a stand against it. In the name of

social justice, ELCA ought to have more oversight over its affiliated

social service agencies that receive taxpayer funds to guard clients.

"Your name and contact info: ___________"

You may also try phoning Bishop Hanson or Ms. Ruth Reko by calling

(773) 380-2700, wait for an attendant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3) Engage your local religious organizations in dialogue on human

rights and mental health

Ray has given us all an opportunity to encourage our local faith-

based communities to address the justice issues involved in mental

health care today.

Ask that your local church, synagogue, mosque, etc. find a way to

raise issues about human rights and mental health.

Those in the USA may also seek to engage in dialogue with

participants and leaders in your local ELCA church, which you may

easily locate here:

http://www.elca.org/ELCA/Search/Find-a-Congregation.aspx

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please act today!

Ray's scheduled electroshocks for this Winter and Spring are below.

Unless there's a miracle.

And maybe you -- and all of us -- are Ray's miracle.

* 18 February 2009

* 4 March 2009

* 25 March 2009

* 8 April 2009

* 29 April 2009

* 13 May 2009

* 3 June 2009

* 17 June 2009

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Minnesota Nonviolent Protests for Ray

Several individuals and groups in Minnesota have told MindFreedom

they would like to help support and attend peaceful protests on

behalf of Ray in Minnesota.

Several MindFreedom members have even said they are willing to travel

from out of state and from out of the country to participate in

protests.

MindFreedom will broadcast more information as it is received.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    How to do and learn more on the Ray Campaign

For links to latest news, Ray Campaign blog, to hear the NPR radio

story on Ray, and read Frequently Asked Questions about the "No More

Shock For Ray Campaign" go here:

http://www.mindfreedom.org/ray

To further participate in the MindFreedom campaign to support Ray,

current MindFreedom members are invited to get on the very busy

MindFreedom "zapback" e-mail list about electroshock, here:

http://www.intenex.net/lists/listinfo/mindfreedom-zapback

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Independence, mutual support and strength in numbers are why

MindFreedom is one of the few groups in the world to break the

silence about existence of involuntary electroshock for over two

decades.

This people power is why Ray had somewhere to turn, when he asked his

local library to find human rights organizations!

Celebrating its 23rd anniversary in 2009, MindFreedom International

is a 100 percent independent nonprofit united to win activist

campaigns for human rights and alternatives in mental health.

Open to the public, most members identify themselves as individuals

who have personally experienced human rights violations in the mental

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