Let's Make a List - Letter Part I

[The People]

Hi folks. I would like to start working on the letter to CMHA re funding for MM. I would like to write the positives in point form and think this would be done best as a group. Please don't take it personally if your point isn't used. May be too personal or someone else may already have said it.

* MM has been around for () years under a few different names. Some of the early members are now administrators.
* We offer complete anonymity due to the fact that many people do not want their community/family to read about them
* While there is an area of the site where people can talk about their abuse it is not the sole purpose of the Bulletin Board. People come to the boards looking for kinship, and for tips on how to get through the growing pains that come with recovery.
* While people give advice such as "what helps for me..." we do not pretend to be professionals and encourage people to take their issues to their therapist.
* The site gives people the opportunity to talk about coming out to friends and family, separating themselves from abusers or confronting same.
* 1/100 people have DID (formerly known as MPD). The same statistics as with Schizophrenia and Autism. While these last two issues have support systems in school and in the community there is little out there for people with DID. This results in people being completely isolated whether they live in small towns or large cities. The reason for this is because the only "education" people receive comes from television show like Criminal Minds or CSI where we are all portrayed as psychopaths. Some of us have been referred to Sexual Assault Support Groups like Adults Molested as Children or open groups for people with depression etc. but it doesn't work most of the time. It is hard enough for us to understand ourselves which is why we need a site where other people can help with that.

*In real life we are most likely to harm ourselves rather than others just as with other forms of mental illness. Yet people are intensely afraid of Dissociative Identity Disorder. An example would be my own situation. My close friend has small children by the time I knew what I was struggling with. I had babysat them, played with them, and changed a few diapers. Prior to my diagnosis she never questioned my being around her kids. The only thing she ever asked me about my illness was "would any of them hurt my kids?" My answer was no and she never said anything else but there were times when I could tell that she worried. That is a mother's job and they are all in College now without my ever have hurt them in any way but this is an example of how people think. At MM people don't assume that we are abusers because we were abused. At MM people don't assume we are 'stranger danger' or untrustworthy in any way.

* The site is closely monitored so that people's posts are pulled if they are inappropriate. This leaves people with a feeling of safety.

*Family members including parents and spouses are welcomed to join us on the site so they can better understand how to help their families. Friends as well. Professionals are also welcome but not in a professional capacity.

* While there are other sites for people with DID across the Web Site most of them do not offer what our site brings to those who have been newly diagnosed with DID or have been in therapy for ten years and have just hit a wall. We laugh together, cry together, problem solve together. Right now we have a round table discussion going so that anyone who would like to do so can add to the present topic of how to improve our site.

* Our bulletin board format allows people to come and go as needed and will find their question, and most likely answers when they are able to come back an hour, a day or a week later. Nothing appropriate is deleted.

* As with Twelve Step programs we do not promote cross talk on our site, meaning that we do not tell people what they are doing is wrong. We do not allow spouses to mock their DID partners (or multiple as we often call ourselves). The bulletin board style allows for quicker and easier deletion of such postings.

*There are boards for all ages of alters. For small child alters or 'littles' as we call them, boards for teens who can only relate to other teens and sites that allow for just about everything we might need to discuss. Triggering statements are not supported on most boards but one has been created for people who have nobody else to talk to.

We are small villages of people, created in one body, living in isolation. I have lived in a large city for ten years and due to the isolation I have felt since moving here I have tried to set up an in person support group with help from professionals. My answers consisted of everything from no response to maybe later and "yes" but with no follow through.

Because of the anonymity I cannot give you an exact percentage of people who come from Canada. However, a similar letter is being sent to your American counterpart requesting support. We have people n our site from other nations as well and we hope that others will come forward to help with this fundraising project. As Fear is a big part of our existence it will be a challenge for some people to come forward. They might be new to our site or new to their diagnosis. Or getting through the day is about all they can manage.

[MakersDozn]

Mosaic Minds has been operating since the summer of 1999. Its predecessor, Divided Hearts, operated for several years before that. Divided Hearts' founder decided to move on to other projects, and she left the forum resources to the staff with the understanding that they would use these resources to sustain the community under a new name.

Here's a post that we made about the history of the site:

http://www.mosaicminds.org/forums/showthread.php?tid=1085&pid=7672#pid7672

As for the rest of your draft, The People, it looks good. We'd like to hear what other folks have to say.

MDs

[The People]

Thanks for this MD. I have saved it and will work it into the letter.