Thank you for helping pave the way to wellness for people with mental health problems. It is a long road to recovery and it is nice to not have to travel it alone.

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wow!! that info in (in the press)spotlight on recovery interview with mr Whipple. that sets my heart on fire, for the importance of each individual person,s life!!! thank you for your insight in words for us all to to have to move forward to help wow

I would like to attest to the help that Empowerment Initiatives has been providing since day one. With the right captain of the ship, empowerment initiatives model is and can be a success and model for many states and even countries. Its program works. Soemtimes all a person needs to go forward is a friend, and for that friend to remind them that hope is powerful and with the re-introduction of dreams anything is possible. The process works. I to this day use the skills that I learned from EI. over the years I have never forgotten the recources I leanred, the lessons I learned from my own growth and with out person centered planning I would have never opened the final door I needed to complete my tool box. People can recover from mental health issues. Understanding goes along ways and bridges gaps. Picks a person back up from the cracks they fell into through the systems or many systems. Empowerment Initiatives needs to stay alive and conintue to provide evidence to the nation that its process can work and DOES WORK!!!!

I like the design and appearance of this website. Whoever did it-great job,it's very attractive.

thank you EI for all you do to take care of all of those important people. i can relate because i have been helped also by people that love.

Thank you, Danny! I apreciate the comments and the resource. We would be happy to have your expertise at some point.

Kjam, this looks like a great program... congratulations! If your staff or volunteers are ever in need of any training in the areas of Team Formation, Grassroots Fundraising, Basebuilding (Volunteer Recruitment), Understanding Powerful People and Institutions, Legislative Visits, Leadership Development, Running Effective Meetings, Understanding Self-Interest or Action Planning, please let me know.

THANK YOU STEVEN! We hope you will be back soon. It's so important that Peer's come together as often as possible to share our experiences and to offer creative support for the important work we are all doing.

It was great meeting you this afternoon. Before today I didn't know you existed. But after meeting you and hearing your story, and all the good things your doing for the Portland community I'm impressed with what your doing. I applaud your work, your values, and the good you do for your community.

Back in June, Kristi Jamison said “Empowerment Initiatives is not going anywhere”. She was right. It is now September, and Empowerment Initiatives is still alive and well, still ably led by Kristi Jamison, still providing quality healthcare services in Clackamas County, and still involved here locally in Multnomah County by providing meeting space for groups like Hearing Voices, and helping with special projects like the October screening of ‘Guilty Except For Insanity’.

The earlier actions of Multnomah County will of course not be forgotten. Personally, I wish they had been taken to court over it all. However, long after the events of June and the Multnomah County bureaucrats who perpetrated them have been forgotten, Empowerment Initiatives will still be here, providing quality healthcare services.

The unbreakable spirit of hope offered by Empowerment Initiatives will never be extinguished.

Yes, I am posting another comment, mostly because this situation has weighed heavily on my mind. I would presume it has had a similar impact on many peers - especially those of us who live in Oregon. And, I was impressed with Dr. Judith Cook's comments. She is a great leader in the field - dedicated to research on a host of important issues, including peer support, self-direction, WRAP, etc.

Multnomah County and the State of Oregon needs to take a hard look at investing resources to help peer programs succeed in every way, and must to do that in partnership with peers.

The complete lack of substantial resources to support and provide needed technical assistance to peer-delivered services in Oregon is astonishing. Honestly, it is embarrassing as well. The peer movement should continue to speak out on this issue, again and again!

EI's situation is yet another example in the Oregon public mental health arena where technical assistance could have averted the crisis we have seen at EI. We should not continue to mourn past losses, and wait for another one to come our way.

Health care reform is here and there are numerous opportunities to get involved and have peer support play a huge role in the new environment rooted in wellness, recovery and independence.

Over the past several days, the Oregon Health Plan has been rightly touted in the media, thanks to research and leadership by our public officials and the providers who serve the most vulnerable. This comforts us and those who are poor and rely heavily on this lifeline to health care benefits. It is a shame that while we celebrate the success of OHP, many of us feel as if we need to cower in frustration and pain as peer run services fall slowly and powerfully to the wayside.

Today, I will write a letter as a resident of Oregon to express my deep concern that our public mental health leaders would allow this situation to fester and impact peers in need and other peer organizations who struggle every day to keep their doors open in the service of others.

EI provides an alternative to the public mental health services that is effective and valuable. Why is Multnomah County backing away from supporting this progressive alternative? Is it the empowerment of people mistreated by the system? Is it that they rigidly divide the world into Providers and Consumers of "services" and can't tolerate "boundary violations" exemplified by using peers to provide services?

To Whom It May Concern, I am surprised to hear the news of the change of support by the County for Empowerment Initiatives. Although peer-supported advocacy has been shown to be one of the more effective and cost-effective ways of supporting people with mental health issues, the State of Oregon has traditionally been leagues behind other states in support peer-based mental health options. To my knowledge, EI has been the only peer-based funded option in the County. I believe they have always complied with what the County has requested. It seems only fair to revisit this decision with an adequate amount of time for EI to make adjustments. Their services are essential in a county and state where funding for mental health is getting cut in every direction. Please reconsider your actions.

To the Leadership at Multnomah County: As a County Agency, surely you are aware that your current actions are being noted by both the state and those political bodies that are active in Oregon. Other persons who believe in and support not only the Consumer Survivor Movement, but Peer to Peer Delivered Services, are paying close attention to your actions. It appears Multnomah County has essentially made a clear and loud statement that Multnomah County holds both Peer to Peer Delivered Services and the Consumer Survivor Movement in disdain. This in spite of continued studies and statistics that repeatedly indicate Genuine Peer to Peer Delivered Services, separate and distinct from community mental health systems of care, continually have higher recovery outcomes. This means that Direct Peer to Peer Services are outperforming services under the old traditional and detrimental symptom focused medical model style of services. Why would Multnomah County make this obviously counter-productive choice? Not the audit. There are far more negative audits that have been allowed to make the corrections needed to retain their contracts. Perhaps, it is time question whether you should seriously re-consider your current course of actions, not just for the sake of the individual customer's who have and would continue to benefit and gain real time progress towards their Person Directed Recovery Plans delivered Peer to Peer. Obviously, Multnomah County would benefit as Peer to Peer Services are far more economical in addition to being more effective. Peer to Peer Services are Fiscally responsible and both Sane and Humane. Multnomah County Leadership, now would be a good time to step up to the plate and reconsider the negative and counter productive course of action you have taken. Thank you.

County representatives, you cannot have thought of our lives-- the lives of users and supporters of peer-provided mental health services-- you cannot have thought of our lives, our experiences, or our struggles when you decided what services Portland can live without. You are whittling away options for real healing and health for people who desperately need options. No matter how technically qualified, an educated clinician cannot always provide the understanding, and most importantly, the hope that a person dealing with extreme mental distress really needs in order to build a better life for themselves. A war veteran cannot always get better with the aid of someone who has no true knowledge of what living in a war is like-- what it is like, how one deals with the pain, and how one recovers from that pain. This is the opportunity for healing you are taking away from our community. How can you do this? How can you take away these hopes?

Peer run programs are vital to creating an atmosphere where Recovery is both the goal and expectation.If adjustments or corrections are required on the part of the county and Empowerment Initiatives !, why not work together to make it happen ? Please reconsider your decision to terminate the contract.

Dear Sir or Madam: I am writing to strongly urge you to reconsider your decision to terminate Empowerment Initiative's (EI) peer-delivered brokerage contracts. The EI program is currently featured on our Mental Health SDC Resources Website (Mental Health SDC) that gets over 100 hits per day. It would be a shame to lose one of the country's longest-running and most-successful disability brokerages. The field is watching this situation closely, and I trust that after a review of the program's fiscal situation by an independent auditor, you will decide to continue to support this important program. Sincerely, Dr. Judith Cook Professor and Director National Research & Training Center on Psychiatric Disability University of Illinois at Chicago

To whom it may concern: How can Luke-Dorf take over for an agency like Empowerment Initiatives? They do not have peer community experience and Empowerment Initiative does.

Hello. I have been benefiting from the services of Empowerment Initiatives for two years now, and am in strong support of them. I am also familiar with Luke-Dorf and know that the services they will provide will not be an adequate substitute for my peers and I. Please do not discontinue our peer-delivered brokerage contracts! We are a strong support network for each other. Please contact me with any questions.

I think every effort should be made to keep empowerment initiatives operative. It would be a loss to the the communities that rely on helping one another in positive ways. We really, indeed, must know that peer support and being treated as someone who is growing and changing rather than as someone who is encased in the traditional medical model, in which many cases does not work, would be taking a lot of steps backward. Let's not let this happen Empowerment Initiatives! Too many wonderful creative bright individuals are lost by the bureaucratic psychiatric one size fits all nightmare. I know this because I have a relative who didn't have any options when the help was needed. Support and safety nets of all kinds are needed! Empowerment Initiatives is a vital part of creating more humane options!

My heart goes out to the staff and people-served.

I am extremely distressed after reading about the actions of Multnomah County in regard to Empowerment Initiatives. The program is, I believe, extremely helpful for patients. This is an extremely serious situation indeed. The program offers the one place where one can go and feel like a human being, let their guard down, talk without discrimination, and be peer supported. One can one only image how unsettling this change is and will be for patients transitioning from being committed in a hospital environment to a community life style. I would ask for reconsideration while keeping the patient's absolute well being in mind. Alan H. Morris MD please note that I am not related to anyone associated with Empowerment Initiatives.

I am greatly concerned about the decision to terminate the contract with Empowerment Initiatives for brokerage services. EI is an organization that I greatly respect and that I had hoped to work with for years. Consumers can facilitate recovery as no other group can. Without EI, we will see decompensation of individual consumers and a great deal of grief in the consumer community. I urge you to reconsider.

Acquaint yourself with the massive literature available on the vital components of the services offered of/by/for people with similar life experiences toward healing and recovery.

i have been with project able as a volunteer and also a client for 1 1/2 years they changed my life gave me encouragement i use to be disowned from my family up till a year ago when they realized how much ive changed and grown up i give all my thanks to the peer to peer support i discovered that other people with simillar problems could relate to me andthe peer to peer to peer has changed my life

i do not know what problems the county has with empowerment it initiatives. the threat to their clients' posed by your action is serious . please reconsider this action to avoid evictions etc. additionally i find it highly problematic that a treatment provider will be absorbing their services

Do not close independent, peer run services for stupid political reasons. You are on the wrong side of history.

I am a peer who lives in Portland. I am familiar with EI and heard about the challenge they face. It means so much to see fellow peers speaking out in support for a program that helps people to achieve recovery. I hope the government does not let it die.

I'm writing to echo Dan Fisher's sentiments. I work for the National Empowerment Centers Technical Assistance Center and feel it would be an absolute shame if EI gets shut down. As a former Oregonian, this is close to my heart. Save Empowerment Initiatives!

Oryx Cohen

In the 1990's, we lost Oregon Consumer Network, our first statewide Consumer/Survivor Organization. We also lost The Mind Empowered, Oregon's first peer-run mental health services provider. In 2006, we lost Renaissance Center, which tho part of Cascadia was staffed by Consumers. More recently, we lost Safe Inc, an innovative and respected program that helped so very many of us. I am tired of seeing history repeat itself. We need to take very aggressive action. Contact the media, contact Multnomah County (Commissioners, Karl Brimner's boss, Ann Kasper in her role as chair of AMHSA...), the State of Oregon, anyone with any connection to EI. Also, try and get support from other Mental Health Agencies - after all the help Cascadia got, they might be sympathetic to someone in trouble. Above all, take action!

I am a writer for Examiner.com. I'm trying to talk with folks who can tell me more about what's going on. If you can help, please email me at jwestberg01@yahoo.com Thank you.

I am shocked and saddened to hear that Empowerment Initiatives of Oregon is being shut down. EI has a stellar national reputation in the area of brokerage which genuinely enable mental health consumers to pursue their dreams. I myself recovered from severe psychiatric disability through choice of services and supports. Research studies and the consensus statement by SAMHSA all attest to the importance of choice and self-determination as EI
has been in the forefront of providing. Please reconsider.SAMHSA has funded a TA center in Portland, which along with our TA center, the National Empowerment Center could provide assistance to EI in working out these issues. I can be reached at daniefisher@gmail.com

I am receive mh services in Portland. EI is a really great program. Do not close it!

To the Board, Staff, and Recipients of Services--

I applaud you for the professionalism exhibited in your response to challenges by your funding oversight agencies regarding bookkeeping and policy adherence. Bureaucracies are challenging at best and there is - all too frequently - a disconnect between paper and people. There is a tendency to focus on the wrong accountabilities when determining whether or not a program should continue in its contracts.

Accountabilities are incredibly important as we - people in recovery - take on ever increasing responsibilities for excellent services. I reviewed all of the documentation that you included on your website and was impressed with your action on steps to improve your accountabilities. The difficulties and challenges you were experiencing are not uncommon in an organization that is finding its footing and maturing. In my opinion, the county/state is making a grave error in not renewing your contract.

But, the most important thing is your service to your brothers and sisters. The evidence is in the outcomes! Helping people move from congregate housing into personally-selected, community-integrated housing is huge. It is one of the most meaningful, tangible goals of all people in recovery. Tell your success stories. Let people know of the good work you are doing. If the focus has become dollar, put numbers to your outcomes. Let people (the community-at-large) know how much money you are saving them when compared to hospitalization, incarceration, and other congregate housing.

I wish you luck in your pursuits to continue to provide these critically important services. Continue to take the high road. Continue to accept responsibility for any short-comings. But, also, speak loudly about what you do best! Do not let anyone take away your successes and your expertise. Represent!

In solidarity,
Melody Riefer, MSW
Advocate
Person in Recovery

I am afraid to leave my name because I don't want my services cut by the mult. county. EI practically saved my life. They give me hope. Please don't take their funding away. Where can I go if that happens?

Hi, I am still learning about what is happening to Empowerment Initiatives. I need to know more but I can tell you there are people all over the state that are very concerned. If you have anything you want to say to Oregon consumers you can send it to my email and I will post it on the OCSC talk listserv.

EI's Contract should not be canceled. No "if's, and's or but's." EI is the only peer run program in Portland. EI = recovery and they help people to stay in their own homes. I think they call this "Olmstead implementation".

If Multnomah County's contract with Empowerment Initiatives, Inc. is canceled, what immediate action(s) will be taken to support and fund mental health peer services in Multnomah County? Additionally, will a statement be forthcoming from the county explaining its decision to terminate EI's contract while demonstrating that standard protocols were followed? I eagerly await some explanation from Multnomah County. Thank you.

This is a good example of how Politics in this country no longer serve the people but serve the lobbyist groups who silence the voice of the people. Did you need to serve yourselves so much? Your families will be in need of these services someday too! How will you amend it then?

Please understand that Peer Support opportunities are few and far between and they do more service than one could imagine. You will be putting many of us out of work, and causing many health risks associated with the lack of concern for the people who use these services.

It is unrealistic to expect compliance in a County funding and support system that is opaque, disconnected from the wellbeing of the clients, and otherwise rewarding paperwork over results. Cascadia needed a million dollar loan from the state and yet they seemed to have continued as a contractor, despite insolvency. EI to its credit has survived for years on much less and produced an innovative and well received program. The customer expenses are not taken lightly, and someone should look for a desired effect before establishing that anything spent is disallowed. The system regularly approves drugs which are exponentially more expensive than any recovery service, though no one questions or audits the disastrous results of years of expensive drugging and the low and impaired recovery rates of heavily medicated clients. Fund EI at a responsible level, create a system that supports their strengths rather than hunts for excuses to fail them. No one here has said they committed fraud, nor have they ever failed to account for all of their funding in greater detail than anyone else in the system must due to the fact that so many items are purchased. It would make more sense to provide increased resources for the additional accounting needs.... no one is getting rich Multnomah, and you will be destroying or crippling an exemplary program and dividing the community once again around the meaningful inclusion of peers and peer programs. It used to be MC's clinics were in constant traumatic turmoil, crisis, and chaos, and the service provided was abysmal and wasteful... they have managed to survive with support, perhaps you should realise the EI has survived this far at a level of resources that would have failed your other providers out of the box... and EI has produced internationally recognized results.

What gives you the right to tell me who or what my treatment is to look like. How dare you to think that someone who is able to understand, and at the same time help me to understand my mental illness. It is a scarey thing to think that there is know hope. But to see someone who is recovery, and can show me that there is hope after mental illness it is call mental health. Don't sit there and tell me that some little girl,who has know idea able mental illness is going to help me.I do\'t like the idea that some person can tell me my mental illness will never be OK. I am OK and I will keep going to the one that knows what I am going through.

Please don't defund peer delivered brokerage contracts, one of the most cost effective and humane mental health services in Multnomah county. Peer services are an important part of a recovery based, person-centered treatment plan for hundreds of individuals struggling for autonomy, wellness, and empowerment. People who are in the psychiatric system deserve choice in their treatment. Choice results in hope and healing. Personal choice is an antidote to despair and a way people can heal from psychiatric abuse.

First of all, this is my first
visit to your website in awhile. Very,very impressive.
Having served on other non- profit boards, the terminating
of the contract while you are finishing an audit process is
extremely unusual as Drake has
mentioned. Given the professionalism I am seeing, I wish the best and can provide
information on other non profit audits if helpful. This seems completely political.

I am a firm believer in Peer driven services. However, with that being said, there also needs to be accountability on both sides. In order to run effectively, EI must remember that they operate as a business, and have to comply with certain business standards. I work for a Consumer owned and operated mental health organization. While I don't agree with the knee-jerk reaction of the County, EI should be given time to rectify the situation in cooperation with the Mental Health Department.

It is unrealistic to expect compliance in a County funding and support system that is opaque, disconnected from the wellbeing of the clients, and otherwise rewarding paperwork over results. Cascadia needed a million dollar loan from the state and yet they seemed to have continued as a contractor, despite insolvency. EI to its credit has survived for years on much less and produced an innovative and well received program.

The customer expenses are not taken lightly, and someone should look for a desired effect before establishing that anything spent is disallowed. The system regularly approves drugs which are exponentially more expensive than any recovery service, though no one questions or audit the disastrous results of years of expensive drugging and the low and impaired recovery rates of heavily medicated clients.

Fund EI at a responsible level, create a system that supports their strengths rather than hunts for excuses to fail them. No one here has said they committed fraud, nor have they ever failed to account for all of their funding in greater detail than anyone else in the system must due to the fact that so many items are purchased.

It would make more sense to provide increased resources for the additional accounting needs.... no one is getting rich Multnomah, and you will be destroying or crippling an exemplary program and dividing the community once again around the meaningful inclusion of peers and peer programs.

It used to be your clinics were in constant traumatic crisis... they have managed to survive with support, perhaps you should realise the EI has survived this far at a level of resources that would have failed your other providers out of the box... and EI has produced internationally recognized results.

Dear Multnomah County Dept. Of Human Services: Please reconsider your current position and do everything possible to resolve fiscal compliance issues with Empowerment Initiatives. Terminating contracts with them and turning over brokerage services to Luke-Dorf undermines the excellent and vital work they do. I am a Multnomah County resident and have been a beneficiary of peer-directed services. I know how lifesaving receiving care peer-to-peer can be. Empowerment Initiatives\' innovative and successful model of care is the future of effective mental health care. We need more brokerages like this one, not fewer. The impact of this hasty decision will have tremendous, damaging effects for Multnomah County residents, including those both directly and indirectly effected. Please open this decision up for public comment. The residents of this county deserve to be included in decisions that damage the quality of mental health care in our communities. Thank you. Sincerely, Dana Dart-McLean

Please do not terminate the funding of Empowerment Initiatives. They play a vital role in peer delivered services in Multnomah County. The county is already sparse in peer run programs. Please hire a consumer liaison to assist programs such as EI. More peer programs need to be developed in Multnomah County. It's where it's at as far as community programs are concerned. Scott Snedecor

The services rendered by Empowerment Initiatives is incredibly vast. This is a service not met by any other party, nor can it be done as well from any other party. Please understand that peers need peers to help them get through tough times. It is evidence-based and in this day an age...it is a necessity. We need Empowerment Initiatives! Please reconsider your position! Rex G.

I am shocked and disappointed at the county's actions. If they have the wellbeing of consumers at heart, how do they justify dropping them with no warning?