The mission of the Alternatives conference is to include as many diverse perspectives as possible on mental health recovery.

The Alternatives conference continues on the legacy of the late Judi Chamberlin,* a pioneering leader in the peer rights movement, and is funded entirely through registration fees and donations. “We will be ‘on our own’ again, connecting to the roots of our movement,” said conference chair Anthony Fox. “We will be free and empowered to express our unique voices, to learn from each other in the spirit of self-help, mutual support, and the principles of recovery in action, with the goal of living full and independent lives in the community.”

*A brief video of Judi's life and contribution.

This five-minute film was created to honor the life and work of Judi Chamberlin, one of the founders of the international consumer/survivor movement, who passed away in January 2010. The National Coalition seeks to build support for a longer documentary project to showcase the history of our movement for civil rights and community life for people with psychiatric disabilities.

Judi Chamberlin's book, On Our Own. You can purchase it at this link.

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To learn more about Judi Chamberlin, visit her Special Collections and University Archives UMass Amherst Libraries
 

“We are now living in a time of a historical shift where people with mental illness, like other groups that have historically been without power, are in the process of claiming our right to self-determination.”
— Judi Chamberlin