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~About Project ABLE Page~
Prior to October 2003, a group of consumers and
family members, with the help of some providers of
mental health services in the Salem, Oregon, area
met and discussed what types of support consumers in
the area needed in order to live meaningful lives as
active parts of their community.
The group determined
that the best vehicle for organizing this support
would be consumer-led projects sponsored by an
independent, nonprofit organization responsible to a
consumer-led board of directors. Project ABLE was
the result of those discussions. In October, 2003,
the group filed articles of incorporation for
Project ABLE, Inc. with the Oregon Secretary of
State.
At present, Project ABLE has a twelve member Board of Directors
that provides direction and support to the
organization. The Project ABLE Board is comprised of
nine consumers and three community members. In
addition, we utilize approximately fifty consumer
volunteers, and two contracted professionals for
bookkeeping, supervision and evaluation of
peer-delivered services.
The directors of Project ABLE believe that programs
designed and directed by consumers themselves can
address the whole life of an individual in a way the
more specialized professional disciplines often
cannot. Furthermore, it is our experience that
mental health consumers working with one another as
peers can build a sense of trust that deepens the
impact of educational and support programs.
With
their roots in a consumer-directed, self-help approach,
our programs have the freedom to address a variety
of issues that cause isolation, relapse, and
hopelessness among consumers on their own in the
community. The consumer directed activities of
Project ABLE offer a supplement to the professional
services available to mental health consumers and
provide active and positive peer involvement as part
of the continuum of care.
Between October 2003 and the present, Project ABLE
elected a twelve-member board that included nine
mental health consumers. We have also drafted
by-laws for the corporation, set up bookkeeping and
record keeping procedures, sought insurance
coverage, and drafted an application for tax-exempt
status. The Project ABLE Board planned its first
projects, projected costs, and began to seek
funding. In July of 2005, Project ABLE received
funding for its first project the Trauma Survivor
Peer Support program.
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