What is the value of getting a bunch of people into a room?  As technology and fuel cost expand, there has been increased emphasis on saving travel costs through increased use of conference calls, web casts, and video conferencing.  I’ve found myself at a number of gatherings in the past week (in fact, I’m in a meeting as I write this) and each has been valuable.  How come?

Last Tuesday, DRO Board President Michael Bailey and I hopped into my car, picked up Ollie Cantos (national disability advocate) and Elizabeth Arledge (DRO Communications/Development Director) and drove to Oregon State Hospital (OSH) for an evening meeting.  DRO has an advisory council for our program that serves folks with mental illness (PAIMI).  It meets every two months.  Once each year, it convenes at OSH and conducts a forum in which residents line up to use a microphone to share what’s on their minds.  We were in my car were driving down to listen up.

The elected chair of our PAIMI Advisory Council (PAC) is a resident of the OSH Forensics Program. One PAC member is a former resident.  A majority of PAC members are individuals with mental illness.  In the past year, the PAC has also conducted meetings at the Portland campus of OSH and at Blue Mountain Recovery Center in Pendleton.  We at DRO (and OSH residents, I noticed) understand that this is a group that knows what it’s talking about.

You might think that sitting in the shabby OSH gym for two hours listening to people’s problems would be a bummer.  I found it energizing.  We heard about people’s anxiety about changes in how the hospital is run and about the new hospital that’s being built.  We heard frustration about the criminal justice system and the Psychiatric Security Review Board.  Many people felt that they didn’t understand what they were getting into when they chose the insanity defense. Some praised staff, others were critical.  Some OSH policies were questioned.  In sum, it was an informative, constructive discussion.

The next night, I attended the fall social event of the Multnomah Bar Association.  It was a reception in a large room at the University Club in Portland.  The venue was packed with lawyers in suits, chatting and drinking and munching hors d'ouevres.  It provided me with a chance to talk with some folks about what DRO is doing, the importance of health care reform for people with disabilities, and just let some people know that we exist.  I was putting a face to our mission: disability rights.

I couldn’t help but compare my consecutive nights in large rooms with voluntarily medicated participants.  The contrast between the social advantages of the groups could have hardly been more extreme.  But both events were about communication and community.  Everyone who participated had a chance to learn about each other, discover alliances, identify opportunities and share challenges.  In each case, I couldn't imagine an electronic alternative being as effective as face time.