2:00pm Thursday -- While I am sitting in an internet cafe in Dupont Circle right now rather than rallying at the Capitol, Anne and I must report that the "plan B" was a resounding success. Mark Anderson presented at the National Mental Health Association's award breakfast this morning, instilling the spirit of grassroots organizing into the conference attendees before their long, hard day of lobbying for mental health parity. In addition, we presented the 30-foot green banner, signed by hundreds of parity supporters in St. Paul, Madison, Chicago, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh, to the crowd. Many people recounted stories of Paul Wellstone at previous NMHA events, and how the banner, our artifact from the bus tour, carried that energy and dedication forward.
Anne, Mark, and I feel overwhelmed by the momentum which built as we traveled from city to city. The energy was palpable at our last rally in Pittsburgh, with 200 supporters at the United Steelworkers of America building. People shouted and waved signs ("Pass the bill, not the buck! Vote on S. 486!"), passionate about ending discrimination and putting this issue right once and for all. Many of our Wellstone Action members turned out to volunteer-- offering to lug tables and banners and help distribute information about our parity campaign. It is so rewarding to see that we are able to make a personal connection with our members, involve them in our campaigns, and work with them on the ground. Thanks to all that came to help!
So, the Green Bus has traveled the country once again. Taped on the back of the driver's sheet is a looseleaf sheet of paper which says "# of vehicles the bus has passed"-- as of Pittsburgh the tally was at about 11. However, that can't change the fact that it still holds significant power as a symbol of grassroots social change and as a rattling and rolling momentum machine! If you ever run into Paul Scott, sit down and let him spin you a tale. All of the people on the bus-- Anne Johnson, Mark Anderson, Paul Scott, Jim McGowan, Mike Hildebrandt, and myself are even more fiercely passionate about passing the Wellstone bill and never giving up than we were before we hit the road. The stories and experiences of the people along the way have made an indelible mark, and we will make sure that Wellstone Action works to further all the hard work of the consumers, advocates, and mental health providers that we met along the way.
A huge thank you goes out to all the local organizers, volunteers, and rally supporters in each city! This bus tour would not have been such a success without you. We look forward to working with you in the future, because, as you know, we will never park the bus!
-- Elana, Anne, and Mark, signing off!
Wednesday 8:15 AM It's now Wednesday morning, it feels like we have been on the road for a lot longer than three days! I'm sitting in the hotel in Pittsburgh and we're about three hours away from what will be our last rally of this tour. We're all so disapointed that we're not going to be able to take the bus to Washington, but we understand.
We have, however come up with a plan B: Mark Anderson, Elana and I are going on in the chase car to bring our banner to Washington, filled with the messages of hope and calls to bring this bill to a vote. Mark is going to address the National Mental Health Association at their annual meeting and tell them what people across America are saying about this issue, and encourage them to continue working until we get this bill passed.
Because we were not able to get the bus to Washington this week, it's going to be so important that we all call our Senators next week and tell them to get this bill passed!
Now, a little about our rally yesterday... We love Cleveland! Our volunteer committee did a wonderful job of comming together to put on the rally. Cleveland seems to be very organized, which is great to see. The advocates, consumers and providers are working so hard there to put up a unified front as they continue the fight to end discimination against people suffering from mental illness. They are gearing up for a fight at the state for parity laws to be passed, and we wish them the best of luck.
We arrived in Cleveland after a long morning of driving through Ohio. When we arrived at the Cleveland Free Clinic, we were welcomed by the Staff, Volunteers and big sign that said "Welcome Wellstone Bus"! Mark Anderson is going to tell you a little more about the clinic in just a minute. But the folks there were just wonderful, and very excited to see Paul's bus. There were over 200 people at the rally, our largest one yet. Cleveland is organized, motivated, and passionate about this issue. Well I need to go find some food and get to our walk through meeting at the Steelworkers building. Here's Mark...
It was great to be with people at the Cleveland Free Clinic who share our goal of universal access to affordable, high quality health care including access to mental health services. As they put it, "Health care is a right, not a privilege." We met so many people at the Cleveland Free Clinic whose most urgent health care need is diagnosis and treatment of a mental illness. They reminded us that science is telling us mental illnesses, whether schizophrenia, depression or Alzheimers, are diseases that can be dignosed and treated just like heart disease, cancer or any other illness. And while none of these diseases is licked yet, we really have to stop discriminating against mental health and start treating people with a mental illness fairly. Because, its all health care.
At our rally, we had several consumers who told their personal stories of struggle with mental illness. About how they knew something was wrong but they didn't know what until many years later, about how their children were struggling with an illness and they were struggling to pay for the treatment while also supporting the rest of their family. And the platform on the back of the bus was our speakers platform. Of course Paul Scott, our chief driver, now with 14 years as the green bus driver, gave guided tours to everyone and shared his memories of traveling with Paul and Sheila to so many parades and other events over the years.
Anne's right, we do love Cleveland. And now the bus carries their stories on to Pittsburgh and we will take them to Washington to say, We will pass this bill!
Tuesday 8:30 AM We are back on the bus on our way to Cleveland despite having driven until 1am after leaving Chicago on Monday evening. The flat, green landscape of Ohio draws us down the road to our next rally. As we ride along, we talk about the impact this bus tour has had on us as individuals thus far. All of us-- fantastic volunteer bus drivers and Wellstone Action staff alike-- have been amazed by the generosity of spirit and personal stories that people bring to each rally. Everywhere we go, when people stop us and ask why we're here and what we're doing, they in turn tell us about how mental illness has affected their families and how excited they are to be joining this movement to end discrimination.
Chicago's rally on Monday evening was much like that. Even the Chicago Police officer assigned to the rally came over and gave his personal support! Many consumers (persons with mental illness) joined us at Federal Plaza on a muggy afternoon in the Windy City to add their voice to the call for mental health fairness. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a co-sponsor of the Wellstone bill, gave a rousing speech calling on her colleagues to help her get this bill passed. Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn reminded us of the importance of our allies at the state level and gave his full support for parity. Consumer/advocate Fred Friedman illustrated for the rally-goers what the effects of untreated mental illness can be-loss of family, employment, and even your personal identity. Advocates Susanne Andriukaitis and Mark Heyrman gave us a good picture of the work that's being done on the ground to achieve fairness for people with mental illness.
After the rally, many of our supporters didn't want to leave! Longtime friends of Wellstone Action took a brief ride on the bus... until Paul Scott, our resident expert driver, pulled over at a city bus stop in front of the famous Marshall Fields on State St. and let them out!
We are carrying the energy that local people bring to these rallies along with us. Although the rally in Washington will not be taking place due to unfortunate events, the stories and messages that we have gathered along the way will be carried forward. 52 miles to Cleveland...
Monday 10:30 am - We just finished up with the Madison Rally! It was great! We had to leave hotel this morning at 7:00 to get downtown and "reserve" some prime meter spots right in front of the rally for the bus to park at. Mission accomplished, the bus has a home on the street!
By 9:00 there were about 75 people at the rally, and quite a bit of media, so that was good. The program was great. There were two people who spoke as the "voices of hope," and conveyed both their struggles to get coverage and also their dedication to the passage of the Wellstone bill. Every time I hear people tell their stories, I again realize what Paul understood about the discrimination that people suffer. It's inspiring to hear their hope.
So now it's on to Chicago. The bus is waiting for us, so more later.... Anne and Elana.
Monday, June 7, 8:30 am - Good morning, this is your first official update for the road. Elana and I will be updating you on our progress as we travel across America, going 1,200 miles for mental health fairness. Right now, we're on day two of our trip. Elana and I are sitting outside of the Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin getting ready for our second event.
Yesterday was an adventure. We started at the Wellstone Action office at 9 AM, packing and printing lit for the events. By 11, we took off for the State capitol. Paul Scott, our fearless lead bus driver arrived with the bus at the capitol at 11:30 and folks started to tour the bus at about noon.
It was so amazing to see so many people at the bus, to see their excitement and support as we took off. The Saint Paul rally was great, although we did get a little sunburned! Mark Anderson, who worked in Paul's Senate office for a number of years, and actually worked on the Wellstone Bill, filled in last minute as our MC, and did a great job. We had two seniors from South High School in Minneapolis speak about their "campaign for the brain" at their school, a mother of two children with multiple diagnoses that encouraged us to remember the human face of mental illness, and a motivational speaker, Pete Feigal, who suffers from depression and speaks out all over the country about mental health fairness!
David Wellstone brought the crowd to their feet as he called for promised made by Senators to be fulfilled with the passage of the Wellstone Bill. It was a great way to get tour started!
From the Saint Paul rally we headed back to the Wellstone Action office and finished loading up the bus. Elana and I left for Madison in the chase/lead car to meet with our local organizers in Madison. The bus was about an hour behind us!
We arrived in Madison at about 7:30 and we did a walk through with the folks here at the of our Monday rally. It's a beautiful building right on the lake. Then it was off to sleep!