Still resistent stopping use of offensive terms? Here is an example:what some DUers have experience [View All]

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Recently, some DUers have asked for more enlightenment and awareness regarding terms casually used here and in the society at large. Those requests have often been met with derision rather than the compassion which one could expect from a "progressive" community.

This issue also intersects with my own mission to educate people about the true causes of homelessness. The following article will illustrate why so many of these "hospitals" were closed down (which happened BEFORE Raygun), and why "progressives" need to enlarge their awareness and activism to include those whom they don't understand. All oppression is the same, and we Dems USED to care about oppressed people of whatever group.

What is described in the following article is NOT limited to that one institution... these abuses and destructive conditions abound nationwide. During an effort to gather information for a book, I have listened to the pain of a group of people discussing what they have been subjected to. That pain is life-altering and hidden from view and I hope that others will now find it in their hearts to be more caring. That pain is REAL, and it is harming real people.

Because the paragraphs in the article are short, it is hard to get the full impact without reading the article. The grand-jury investigation followed three deaths which happened in a short period of time. Also notice that at no time were the patients themselves interviewed in this matter!

Thank you to those who care!

Changes urged at Colo. mental hospital after three deaths
By Kirk Mitchell
The Denver Post
Posted: 11/24/2010 01:00:00 AM MST

(snip)
A report issued last week recommended the hospital reduce physical restraints and seclusions by half, empower hands-on staff to make more clinical decisions and restore programming.

(snip)
"Based on this report and other internal reviews the department has conducted in recent months, we will develop a comprehensive plan going forward to improve the care and treatment we provide to patients," Colorado Department of Human Services executive director Karen Beye said in a statement.

The new forensic hospital was designed for all-day programming, but programming facilities are rarely used because of staff shortages, the report says. Patients stay in their residential pods most of the time. The atmosphere is "stark." Patient rooms didn't have personal photos on walls, and "fun-house" mirrors give distorted reflections of patients and should be replaced with safety mirrors.

(snip)
The report recommended revamping the hospital's leadership structure, in which administrative policy decisions were "knee-jerk" and not driven by front-line workers who best understood issues.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16697768