You can refer to this website for all kinds of information. The home page highlights upcoming meetings and special upcoming events and actions.
As a FASMI member, you’ll be part of a Google discussion group where you’ll receive all posts & announce-ments and you can post comments, which go out to everyone on the list. You can choose to receive emails of all posts or limit how much to receive by going to the “My Membership Settings” of the Google Group.
We plan to be sending out a regular monthly newsletter sometime soon, but that has not been set up yet.
We are led by a Steering Committee which is currently made up of these persons: Katy Polony, Patricia Fontana, Alison Monroe, Margot Dashiell, Lindsay Schachinger, Tori Casanova, Glenn Turner, Anita Wills, Molly Shirk & Nurit Venus. The Committee’s membership is not stagnant; interested persons can ask to be invited to join.
Ad hoc subcommittees are formed as needed to take charge of actions, tasks & various projects. We encourage all members to participate in whatever ways they can – even if it seems they have little to give. Everyone has some-thing to contribute! The more everyone gets involved, the more successful our activism is
As you can see in the “Who we are” section, we are made up primarily of family and friends of persons with serious mental illnesses who are dedicated to advocating for changes in laws, policies and the systems that affect the lives of our loved ones.
To that end, we do serve to support each other as we do what we need to do. However, we ally with many support organizations in the area and urge people to check them out.
There are many ways the FASMI members can play a part in making our advocacy work. As noted above, the kinds of tasks that need our participants’ help vary widely and there is something that you can do to contribute. Consider what your skills, time and interests and look over the groups of activities below. Some ad hoc committees have have already been formed and you can just join one of them. Other activities still desperately need people to help with them even if a committee hasn’t been formed yet. Think about where you can help and contact us to see if there is already an active committee you can join or to let us know you want to work on something else. For simple actions anyone can take RIGHT NOW, see https://acfasmi.org/actions-you-can-take/ !!
Management tasks
Scheduling & calendars
– schedule meetings, minutes/recordings
(zoom skills); post to entire membership
– manage calendar of events, deadlines, etc.
– conflict resolution / racial equity issues
– Newsletter? Collaborate w/publications/press/education
Membership/Outreach
-recruit & welcoming new members
(perhaps intro webinar/pamphlet/email
– members’ emails/phone #s/districts +add to email list
(consider separate lists – providers? electeds?)
– encourage members take action
Action/Advocacy Events
– Handle/manage of public events
+ prepare materials for publication
+ Art & sign-making
– Encourage membership action
+ attendance at public meetings & report back
+ letters & petitions
-Collecting personal stories
-Collaborate with publications/press/education
Publicity/Press/Education
– Coordinate messaging / develop sample scripts/letters
– Editors/writers who review outgoing material
– Post informational materials to shared file or website
– Press relations – Identify point persons for press, etc.
– Video/Film: ID possibilities for videos/film-making
– Website/Facebook
Legislation/Policy
– Follow/analyze legislation à collaborate with Action/Events
– create FOCUS Teams on specific legislation
– research/follow situations & concerns
– identify FASMI position (with Steering Committee)
Manage Advocacy & lobbying wrt elected reps
(e.g., TAC’s Advocacy101: How to Effect Change)
– Maybe separate groups for each level: county/state/federal
– Collaborate w/others to produce sample scripts/letters
Legal Issues
– follow matters in courts & consider options for FASMI
– research & writing under guidance of attorney
– Public Records Act requests & follow-up
Ala.Co. Facilities/Agencies
– including outside facilities used by AlaCo residents
– follow situations/policies & assure member involvement
– need: have there been assessments? report & push for them
[FOCUS on ISSUES] Incarceration/Criminalization
– research/follow situations & concerns
– identify FASMI position (with Steering Commitee)
[FOCUS on ISSUES] Providers
– connection with providers
[FOCUS on ISSUES] Modernization & Bond to be presented
– research/follow situations & concerns
– identify FASMI position
At this time, FASMI is NOT a 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity and donations are not tax-deductible.
