Crowdfunding campaign Canon Family Movement in Mental Healthcare
Crowdfunding for a Canon of the Family Movement in Mental Healthcare
On October 25, Irene Geerts will defend her PhD thesis Family Matters on the history of the Dutch family movement in mental healthcare at the Open University in Heerlen. In order to make this history available to a wider Dutch audience, Irene has set up a crowdfunding campaign with the goal of turning her dissertation into a ‘Canon van de Naastenbeweging GGZ’ (Canon of the Family Movement in Mental Healthcare).
Family Matters tells the story of how and why family members and friends of people with serious mental health issues became activists in the Dutch mental healthcare arena from the 1960s onwards. Initially, these relations protested against stigma and lack of patients’ rights in solidarity with (ex-)patients themselves. From the 1980s onwards, however, new organisations were set up exclusively by and for these relations. They protested against having no say in matters of care even though many relatives shouldered the bulk of care, and against the fact that they were often blamed for their loved ones’ problems by the professionals. These relatives wanted recognition as partners in care, rather than being sidelined. The dissertation uncovers what prompted this sudden rise of a family movement and traces the establishment of this family movement in the Netherlands until the turn of the century.
The thesis is written in English, following modern academic norms. However, this limits its accessibility to the wider public, especially the family activists and organizations who were and are involved in this movement. In close collaboration with the renowned website Canon Sociaal Werk, Irene is therefore planning to create a Canon of the Family Movement in Mental Healthcare based on her PhD thesis. All the work for this website is done by volunteers on a completely non-profit basis.
However, this endeavour inevitably comes with costs for hosting, technical support etcetera. Rather than receiving gifts for her PhD defense, Irene is encouraging donations via a crowdfunding campaign to help finance the Canon of the Family Movement in Mental Healthcare. But this appeal is not limited to Irene’s personal network. Anyone who sees the importance of making this history accessible to a wider audience is invited to contribute. The Canon will serve as a valuable resource for students and scholars as well as for activists and advocates in today’s family and clients’ movements.
You can contribute via this website.
