Bazelon Center Remembers Mental Health Consumer Rights Pioneer

January 19, 2010 - "Today we mourn the passing of an icon in the mental health civil rights movement," said Robert Bernstein, Ph.D., executive director of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. "Judi Chamberlin stood for the rights of people with mental illnesses, especially in securing self-directed treatment, at a time when few would even speak of mental illness in this nation."

"Her steadfast determination and advocacy, always in the name of dignity and justice, paved the way for millions of Americans with mental illnesses to obtain the respect they deserve when seeking treatment. She left an indelible legacy and will be sorely missed," Bernstein said.

Judi Chamberlin became an advocate for people with mental illnesses after voluntarily entering a hospital at the age of 21 to treat her depression, when she realized that that she had no say about when she could be released. This experience prompted a lifetime of advocacy on behalf of the consumer voice in design and operation of mental health systems at the state and national levels. Chamberlin celebrated the word "mad," dismissing its stigmatizing connotations, and was a founding member of the Mad Pride Movement. She died at home this weekend of lung disease at the age of 65.

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