MindRights: torture-free psychiatry

I am Jolijn Santegoeds. I am a grassroots human rights activist.

I am raising money for the foundation: MindRights (www.mindrights.nl ) which has an official not-for-profit / charity status (ANBI status) in the Netherlands , and advocates against solitary confinement, restraints and other forced interventions by mental health care. MindRights advocates that real care is something different than confinement and repression. In fact, these are the opposite of each other.

I am a person with lived experience, I am a survivor of psychiatric torture, which is why I am so dedicated to change the harmful practices in mental health care, and to raise awareness on human rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities.

 

Besides being the founder and chair of MindRights, I am also a board member of the European Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (www.enusp.org ) and I am one of the two Co-Chairs of the World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (www.wnusp.net ) . This implies that my activities are not limited to the Netherlands, but are also often international activities. I work as a volunteer.

 

I am raising money to cover the costs of human rights awareness raising activities in many forms, both in the Netherlands and beyond.  These costs comprise a relatively small amount for operational organization of MindRights at the national level, and in addition there are travel costs to participate in important international meetings for ENUSP and WNUSP (including at EU and UN). Often MindRights advances the travel costs for Jolijn Santegoeds for activities of ENUSP and WNUSP, which makes it necessary for MindRights to have some substantial budget to advance these costs before reimbursement. And sometimes there is no reimbursement and then participation can only be done on own expenses. This includes representing WNUSP at the United Nations.  

 

So that is why I am starting this campaign, hoping to find support for my personal mission to seize every opportunity to advocate for change of the mental health care system, from repression to real care.

 

If you donate to my cause, I will be very thankful, because you are not only supporting my dream of making a change in this world, but you are supporting persons who are often physically and emotionally abandoned. Any donation is a significant step towards ending the neglect, and a step towards building a community that really cares. Please be part of this change!