Recent Developments
at Freedom Center

Freedom Center to Consult for Disability Task Force
Freedom Center was invited to work with the domestic violence services agency Safe Passages on a local initiative which aims to improve the quality of services for people with disabilities who are crime victims. Freedom Center will get a $3,000 fee for its involvement, through a federal needs assessment grant. As the only area group run by and for people labeled with psychiatric disabilities, Freedom Center will share our experiences with violence as well as abuse by caregivers. We will also participate in trainings for criminal justice, emergency point-of-entry staff, victim witness, healthcare, and other civil service agencies in Hampshire County

The group includes Safe Passage, Stavros Center for Independent Living, Northwestern District Attorney's Office, and Everywoman's Center.

Mt. Holyoke College Psychology Honor Society Award
Mt Holyoke college chapter of Psi Chi has made a donation to the Freedom Center in recognition of our work. Psi Chi is the nationwide honor society of undergraduate psychology students, with chapters across the US. Psy Chi president Alexandra Adame, a student of Gail Hornstein, invited Freedom Center speakers to a packed student audience at Mt. Holyoke last
year, which was very well received and led to the donation.

Haymarket People's Fund Grant for Community Organizing
Haymarket People's Fund, a private foundation funding anti-oppression groups around the US, has awarded Freedom Center $4800 for our community organizing work. The grant is a strong recognition of our human rights efforts and campaigns to get the voice of psychiatric abuse survivors heard. Haymarket has never funded a group like the Freedom Center before, and we are excited that our issues and movement are getting more recognition from the larger progressive movement for social change.