INFORMATIONAL PICKET AT PSYCHO DONUTS AIMS TO PROMOTE DISABILITY AWARENESS AND END DISCRIMATION
SAN JOSE, CA — The Friends United to Support Equality (F.U.S.E.) Coalition is organizing an informational picket outside of Psycho Donuts in Campbell this Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and 17, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. The picket is part of F.U.S.E.’s ongoing campaign to convince the owners of Psycho Donuts to change their business name, marketing practices and behaviors.
Psycho Donuts opened in March of this year using the theme of being a “light-hearted insane asylum.” They sell donuts called “Massive Head Trauma,” “Cereal Killer” and “Bi-Polar.” The shop also includes a padded cell where children can take photos wearing a straightjacket.
For over a month, F.U.S.E., which includes local disability organizations, consumers and community and mental health advocates, has been advocating for a change in the discriminatory aspects of Psycho Donuts. In addition, F.U.S.E. wants to educate the community about the stigma associated with mental illness and promote disability awareness.
“We want to send a loud and clear message to the owners of Psycho Donuts and to the leadership of the City of Campbell that this is wrong, reflects very poorly on the people and City of Campbell, and we will not stand for this kind of discrimination against people with disabilities in our community,” says Sarah Triano, F.U.S.E. Spokesperson.
Silicon Valley Independent Living Center (SVILC), a member of F.U.S.E., is a disability rights and advocacy organization that provides comprehensive services to individuals with any and all types of disabilities in Santa Clara County. For more information, go to www.svilc.org.
Iowans with brain injury and their families stand with you in this effort to educate.
G
Setting the record straight….
Hello all:
My name is Hope and I am a survivor of mental illness, a family member of persons with mental health challenges, and a friend of those faced with the same challenges.
As an advocate, a consumer. a resident of Campbell community in CA, an employee of the California Network of Mental Health Clients, an employee of the County of Santa Clara, Department of Mental Health, a child of a parent with mental illness, and as a parent myself, it’s time to set the record straight…
As an originating member of F.U.S.E. (Friends United to Support Equality) and as part of their leadership Coalition I just want to share the truths about the engagement of threatening or violent displays of behavior. Just to clarify, this is in a matter of my opinion only, as experienced from one of the protesting members in Campbell community, where I live.
On all events that I have experienced in front of the Campbell donut shop, I have witnessed the owners and friends of the owners engaging in threatening, violent, and derogatory forms of communication. As a matter of fact I especially remember the “B” word being blasted over the megaphone to one of the members of our coalition!! I thought to myself, “WOW! What an awful display of public behavior and to think our city allowed these guys to go into business with these kinds of practices. What happen to our social responsibility, as of residents of this town?” And as the slurs continued by one of the owners, a mother and her child walked out of the donut establishment and again, I thought, “WOW”!! I wouldn’t want to bring my child around such an establishment, with owners slurring vulgarities as patrons passed by… not to mention the content within the shop and the themes that are so blatantly chuckled at… at the countless lived experiences of pain, trauma, tears, and even death (my own experiences included i.e. my cousin recently committed suicide, she had untreated bi-polar) the many, whose lives have been robbed from them, by mental illness. NONE OF WHICH IS FUNNY and those who have lived through and are living this experience can attest to that!!! Yeah laughter is good and all, but I truly feel unless you have walked in my shoes, you do not really understand. I laugh at some of the horrors of my past, but that is because 1) it is mine to laugh at and 2) I’ve reached the other side and have gone on the journey of coming to terms with these things about myself, a journey that society makes difficult. A journey surrounded by “societal norms” that includes mockery and accepts behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and practices that perpetuate stigma and discrimination!!! Wake up, world!!! I said a child was leaving the donut shop!!! A child that probably has not gone on that journey…a child that is impressionable to the societal norms of which they are exposed. Is that what we want to teach our children?
So…I Hope…Helping Our Peers Empower… will continue to F.U.S.E. with Friends United to Support Equality to promote peaceful interactions in our communities that educate and raise awareness of those who DO NOT KNOW that mental health does not perpetuate stigma, people do!!
Always,
Hope