Crossroads to Change Campaign

By Carole Willey

The 1999 Mental Health Quality Review Team Report found 68 percent of those surveyed had their rights violated in involuntary hospitalizations, known as a civil commitment—substantive constitutional procedural due process violations—civil rights violations. I founded the Crossroads to Change Campaign to expose these violations and work towards mental health (MH) reform. For 25 years I have been dedicated to educating various groups about these violations and other MH issues of forced treatment known as forced medication in Washington State.

This campaign’s focus is expose violations of MH civil commitment as documented by the Spokane County’s Mental Health Quality Review Team in their report entitled: “Investigation and Survey Results Regarding the Legal Representation by the Spokane Public Defender’s Office for the Involuntary Treatment Act Hearing Process,” dated November 29, 1999 and a second Spokane Report entitled: “Civil Commitment / Involuntary Treatment Act (ITA) Survey Results” dated June 24, 2002.

These reports provide a historical viewpoint of due process violations in involuntary hospitalizations.  Carole Willey has been the only gatekeeper of these reports and working against the continued inaction of the state agencies and legislators since moving to Olympia, WA in 1998.

CCC’s Vision

The Crossroads to Change Cam-paign (CCC) was establish to educate Americans about civil right violations in US healthcare practices, to exposure these violations, and provide evidence that in Washington State people with mental disabilities are regularly detained in involuntary hospitalizations/civil commitments while experiencing a lack of due process.  CCC was also established to expose the varied methods that cause psychiatric coercion and mental health (MH) forced medications. Its goal is to voice the need for mental health reform at all levels of treatment and create a call to action for people to become involved.

Another of the campaign’s goals is to educate consumers, survivors, and former patients across the state about their rights. By being informed on outpatients and inpatients issues, it will empower and  guide them towards more mental health self-determination, which will allow them to embrace mental health recovery and to enhance their lifestyles to attain health and wellness.   CCC purports a sustainable mental health environment as opposed to a crisis-driven, oppressive existence, and profit-driven mental health care system.

Email Carole Willey about inappropriate handling of mental health providers or facilities — environmentalhealthcaretc@gmail.com