I need to open with a disclaimer.

I have worked as a peer supporter for Catholic Charities of Denver and I am currently working for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless as a peer supporter. I am a former board member for Mental Health America of Colorado and I am currently on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Mental ellness !etwork" but am I speaking to you today as a private citi#en who has personal e$perience with the civil commitment process and not as a representative of any of these organi#ations. I have been in treatment for a mental health condition since %&'(. )rom %&'( to %&&* I was misdiagnosed and hospitali#ed * times in the Denver area" and none of these hospitali#ations were voluntary. I would like to share one of these e$periences. I was placed on a +,-hour hold after a suicide attempt. .lease keep in mind that I have no criminal record or history of violence. I have never touched another person in anger and I abhor weaponry. /n my second day of this +,-hour hold I found myself frantically pacing in a hallway in front of the hospital rooms. I was approached by , male mental health workers and told that I needed to sit down. I told them that I couldn0t and backed away from them. 1hey told me that I needed to sit down and I needed to sit down right now. I told them 2I can0t34 and retreated further away from them. I found myself backed against a wall and they rushed at me and physically restrained me. /ne of them hit me in the ribs and I fell to my knees. /ne then grabs me by the wrists and the other grabs me by the ankles. 1hey proceeded to drag me belly side down while I arched my neck to keep my face off the floor. 1hey then tossed me into an isolation room. I spent 5 days in that isolation room. My +,-hour hold passed while I was in isolation and no one ever disclosed my rights. I was denied due process and I spent a total of 67 days in that hospital. hen I was discharged" I was 8obless" homeless and had no social supports. I was given medications that e$acerbated my condition and sent to a group home where I was told I needed to find a 8ob. I did so" only to find my self in the same condition a year or , later and confronted with yet another +,-hour hold. I0ll let you decide" were my civil liberties violated. 1he recommendations of this task force are important. 1he decisions you make here could further traumati#e an already trauma ridden vulnerable population. 1he idea of consolidating mental health" alcohol and substance use statues need to be considered carefully. 1hese are very different populations with different needs and values. Many mental health consumers are fearful of substance use people" and the same can be said the other way around. 1o combine these statues for the purposes of evaluation may actually escalate people in crisis. 1he idea of e$panding the credentials necessary to place an individual involuntarily in a hospital will increase an already overburdened system and cause people who are not in need of a hospitali#ations to be held against their will. e should be looking at recovery focused" peer run crisis centers that have proven to reduce hospitali#ations. Involuntary commitment for treatment goes against a guiding principle of mental health recovery as defined by 9AMH9A" self -determination. 1he recovery model was promised to mental health consumers as part of the 1ransformation of Mental Health in America. 1he recovery model is an evidenced based practice that finally made my life whole" healthy. I truly en8oy my life now. I have been a person in recovery for a mental health condition since ,((7. I can go on and e$press my opinions of the tasks at hand but I will spare you for now. I will close with , final points. I am going to unveil the elephant in the room. 1his task force was assembled in response to the recent tragedies. My heart goes out to the victims of these tragedies and their families. I can only hope that they are receiving the recovery based treatment for the trauma they are dealing with. But there is are

other victims no one is talking about. 1he persons that committed these heinous acts were left untreated for who knows how long. 1hey were most likely" like so many" stigmati#ed away from treatment. 1hey and their families probably knew that they would be discriminated against for seeking treatment. Maybe they were denied access to affordable treatment. I am not defending these people. hat they did is offensive to me" but we as a society have to accept some responsibility. e define people with mental health conditions as 2evil4" 2cra#y4" 2psychotic4 and other language that perpetuates stigma and discrimination. e deny them employment" housing" and treatment and now we want to curtail their civil liberties further. 1he data is clear. Human beings are violent" but mental health consumers are no more likely to commit acts of violence than the general population. Mental health consumers are far more likely to be victims of violence. :ecovery based treatment works" and we can reduce these tragedies without infringing on peoples rights. )inally" this is a very emotional topic for me and other consumers in the room" but I intend to be here for every meeting. I promise that I will treat you all and your respective professions with the dignity and respect you deserve. I also e$pect you will reciprocate. I am concerned about the language that may be used in this room. As consumers we are not 2fre;uent fliers4. e may over utili#e the system because we are not getting the treatment we deserve. e are not our diagnoses. e are lawyers" social workers" hospital administrators" politicians" nurses" law enforcement" advocates" artists" and musicians... e are family" sons" daughters" mothers" and fathers... e are a lot of different things but we are not our diagnoses. /ur diagnoses are only a small part of our lives. e are not cra#y" dangerously mentally ill" psychotic and so on. e are not hobos" crack heads" drunks and so on. e are the under served" most vulnerable populations in our society. 1his language is offensive to me. It perpetuates the stigma and discrimination associated with mental health" substance use" and homelessness. If you use it I or hopefully others will gently offer better language. I reali#e that some of you are not skilled in the concepts of recovery as defined by 9AMH9A or the principle of being person centered. <sing person first language is a skill that is not taught at universities and colleges and I understand that you use some of this language in the performance of your duties" but while you=re in this room be mindful of the consumers in the room and how this language affects them. I am grateful for your time and the opportunity to e$press my views. 1hank you" >uan Chapel