What makes consumer organizations successful?
Mowbray and Tan (1992) evaluated six consumer drop-in centers in
Michigan and concluded that such programs are likely to be more effective when they: (1)
are truly consumer-run; (2) have adequate support from and collaboration with the
professional mental health community; (3) receive assurance of sufficient funding levels;
(4) provide responsiveness and outreach by program leaders to the broad consumer
constituency; and, (5) utilize ongoing self-monitoring and evaluation of operations.
According to Harp and Zinman (1994), a particular self-help group's
success or failure is most contingent on (1) clearly defining who it is and what it wants;
(2) finding compatible funding; (3) formalizing its governance; and (4) adopting
innovative structures.
Chamberlain, Rogers and Ellison (1996) surveyed six self-help programs
in various parts of the United States and found that successful programs emphasized values
of empowerment, choice and self-determination. Some of these programs offered only
nontraditional services to fill gaps in the system of care and help members get what they
need from existing services, while others have begun to provide more traditional mental
health services.
In Van Tosh and del Vecchio's (In Press) analysis of the implementation
of 13 Community Support Program (CSP) sponsored consumer service demonstration projects,
the most frequently mentioned recommendations from individual projects included: increased
training and technical assistance; better planning; adequate funding and continuation;
enhanced cooperation; expanded outreach to people of color; increased research; and,
direct funding of projects.
