Hi

I met today with Nancy Pena, Interim MH Director for Santa Clara County.

She indicated that she was going to stand 100% behind my client computer course for the spring. To say what she meant (not her way of saying it), she is going to keep ALLIANCE from controlling it and she is going to provide the funding necessary to give it a go. Phil’s efforts to investigate the different aspects of the situation and lobby have I think paid off well here.

She also asked to postpone the Accountability Training agenda we are developing for about a ‘month’. Put differently, she addresses this like it’s a fact, more directly than heretofore, in order to make this request. [!] I gather she has some internal politics at hand.

What she shared was that within her ‘inclusion’ agenda she is trying to bring the top 24/7 people in the system into the management program. She points out, what previously was rumored, that Allan got himself in hot water dissing the hospital shrinks etc. But the other side of this is that Allan didn’t know about client-driven residential crisis stuff, that I’ve worked on in Berkeley and that SCCMH’s consultant has recommended for them, on top of self-help. So it’s not fair to say that Nancy is being more ‘medical model’ than Allan, rather, Allan was idealistic after the line of argumentation of the ‘old tradition’ of the clients movement. [!]

Good news is that Nancy has now decided to cast her hat in the ring for MH Director. [She’s currently Deputy Director.] Let us hope. Bad news is I guess that inferentially this whole connection about Accountability Training and client empowerment in general is challenged in an unknown way if some other person gets the nod. In this case (harshest reading) a ‘month’ might mean “a month plus Nancy gets the job.”

Anyway Nancy had a fire about her like she’s coming to mean business. She keeps on pushing for the steps that will lead to independent client organizing being recognized by the Dept.

Regards

Andrew