HEAL has
been working for REAL change for over 10 years! We plan to
continue growing and succeeding in our efforts for many years to come.
We thank everyone who has worked with us and supported us over the
years! Below are only a few highlights regarding our efforts and
accomplishments from 2002 to 2012. We hope you will be informed
and inspired by our actions. We are still very active and our
site, newsletter, and social media accounts provide updates on current
and recent successes and efforts. This page was made in 2013 to
highlight the accomplishments to that point. We hope that makes
sense to you.
For those
who have been with us from the beginning, you may remember our first
"unofficial theme song". If so, please enjoy the following:
YEAR
EVENTS,
MEMORIES, & SUCCESSES!
2002
Highlights Include:
*HEAL officially
began as a University of Washington (UW) Registered Student
Org.!
*HEAL
volunteers hosted information tables on campus almost daily,
year round!
*HEAL started
our free inmate penpal service "Adopt an Inmate"
Our original plan:
"We will start a truly egalitarian network of activists
self-empowered to create change, plan events, and make the world
a better place. We will focus not just on one issue, but on all
issues. We will create a website and a network in which all
people are able to be productive and take action. We will work
interconnectedly with other liberation groups and, hopefully,
become the much needed adhesive to bring everyone together."
2003
Highlights Include:
*HEAL launched our
"Alternatives to Dissection" Campaign and Petition
*HEAL was
introduced to the International Survivors Action Committee
*HEAL was
introduced to Ryan Fraidenburgh and learned more about WWASPS
*HEAL began
tentative planning for a "Teen Crisis Symposium"
*HEAL founder
Angela Smith volunteered with Teen Feed helping homeless youth
*HEAL launched
our own self-hosted "Close Provo Canyon School" petition
*HEAL founder
Angela Smith wrote
open letter on
institutionalized abuse
*HEAL's campaign to
close Provo Canyon School was mentioned by musician and spoken
word artist Jello Biafra on his label's website at
www.alternativetentacles.com.
(We recommend the album "No More Cocoons")
*HEAL held
weekly meetings and tabled regularly at the UW
Special Note: The UW
Student Activities Office attempted to suppress HEAL's right to
free speech causing quite an uprising that for a couple of weeks
united many progressive and conservative student organizations
supporting HEAL. The student newspapers were threatened
with defunding for covering the story. But, HEAL kept our
registered student organization status and all benefits
including our UW webspace. We had our UW-hosted site
auto-forward to our new official site. And, our real
journey began!
Our Mission in 2004:
"We are all in this together. It is up to each of us to decide
what we are willing, wanting, and able to do to improve the
world for ourselves and others. HEAL is founded on the
principles of freedom, respect, compassion, thinking, and
action. We support all organizations who share these principles
and act in cooperation with such organizations on
and off campus."
*HEAL
discussed possible march on Wash, DC to support HR 1738
*Angela Smith, HEAL
Founder, gave a
guest lecture at the UW
regarding institutionalized child abuse
*HEAL held
weekly meetings and tabled regularly at the UW
Special Note:
Rep. George Miller introduced the first legislation to stop
institutionalized abuse called the "End Institutionalized Abuse
of Children Act" (HR 1738) in April, 2005. HEAL wishes the
current (2011/2012) legislation had the same language and
strength as the initial legislation in 2005.
2006
Highlights Include:
*HEAL added a
California and North Carolina chapter (briefly)
*Richard
Meehan began organizing his chapter in New York
*John Giesler
joined HEAL as our Mississippi Coordinator
*HEAL participated
in
article in Dissident Voice by
Joshua Chiappelli exposing institutionalized abuse
*Tony Connelly
joined HEAL as our
Kentucky Coordinator (Tim Brown
is the current coordinator)
*HEAL KY organized
multiple protests against Kids Helping Kids/Pathway Family
Center
*HEAL HQ held
monthly meetings at the Cascade People's Center in Seattle
*HEAL was contacted
by House Education and Labor Committee to discuss upcoming
hearings on abusive teen programs
2008
Highlights Include:
*HEAL collaborated
with Teen Advocates USA, ISAC, and the Michelle Sutton Memorial
Fund to create a
position statement regarding HR 6358
(2008's version of 2005's HR 1738)
*HEAL KY continued
protests and pressure on all four Pathway Family Center programs
*HEAL wrote new
position statement for HR 911
(2009's version of 2005's HR 1738) and sent our statement to the
Senate HELP Committee and House Education and Labor Committee
*Angela Smith (HEAL
HQ) traveled to mid-west to meet with Patrick Liberg (HEAL IL),
Esperanza Lydia Orozco (HEAL WI), Tony Connelly (HEAL KY) and Tim
Brown (HEAL KY)
*HEAL began the
program staff list project to review qualifications and track
changes in staff. (The information is made available as
soon as it is ready.)
*John Giesler
expanded his HEAL territory to include
Iowa
*Patrick Liberg
(HEAL IL) helped create the page exposing
Turning Winds
*HEAL published our
free e-book exposing behavior
modification in the US
*HEAL started doing
extensive contract reviews to show unconscionable and/or illegal
terms suggesting fraud or abuse within the program contracts
themselves
*One
of HEAL's "innocence project" endeavors for prisoner's rights
was successful! Jason Dean, an innocent man on death row, is
getting a new trial. This is huge! Ohio is one of the worst
northern states in regards to human rights. So, this is a big
win! To see the HEAL hosted petition and learn more about this
issue, visit
http://www.petitiononline.com/lifedean/petition.html.
*Simone Jones joined
us as our Kansas Coordinator
*HEAL created a
Requests page to deal with
suggestions for our site content
*Simone Jones (HEAL
KS) participated in writing a book exposing New Bethany
*HEAL began
producing youtube episodes for our "Masters of Deception" series
*HEAL prepared and
sent our
position statement on HR 3126 and S. 1667
to the House Education and Labor Committee and Senate HELP
Committee (HR 3126 and S. 1667 is 2011's version of 2005's HR
1738)
*Angela Smith, HEAL
Founder, spoke with Michael Gamel-McCormick of Senator Tom
Harkin's (D-IA) office regarding the problems with S. 1667
*HEAL officially
launched our "State
Action Plan" and hopes you will get involved!
2012
2012 is just beginning. So far, we have launched our first
action alert for the State Action Plan and it is available at
www.heal-online.org/actionone.htm.
And, we are happy to announce two new chapter coordinators.
Dwayne Walker is our new
California Coordinator and
Teresa Frye is our new HEAL
North Carolina Coordinator.
Dwayne Walker (HEAL CA), Teresa Frye (HEAL NC), and Simone Jones
(HEAL KS) all participated in the first Survivors of
Institutional Abuse convention.
Click here for more information.
Beyond that, the above only scratches the surface of all of
HEAL's efforts and accomplishments in the last 10 years.
We hope you will continue to support us and work with us for a
better world with more joy and less pain. Search our site
(see below) to learn more and get involved!