Conferencing about Mental Health

So, a woman came up to stand behind me in line. We were waiting to sign in for the third day of a municipal conference on mental health here in Porto Alegre.

"Oh!" she said, "The conference hasn't started yet!? I thought I was running so late. I was really worried."

"No," I said, "They said it was starting at 8 this morning, so I figured showing up at 9 would be fine."

"This conference! These people! They're so disorganized!" she said a bit huffily, "I can't believe it."

I laughed.

Yes, the conference had been disorganized. The location was announced at the last minute. Only a percentage of attendees could actually fit in the room. People were upset. Tensions ran high. I thought my head might explode. I think it was/is the general frustration of the mental health crowd who finds itself without the resources and support to do the work it needs to do in the manner it feels best. It seems that logistical issues with conference were just too symbolic of disregard and disrespect for people not to get annoyed.

You can see from this picture that people are looking pretty darn serious (even today), but they're there on a Saturday morning -- when a majority of them have worked all week long -- because they want to improve the arena of mental health.

Today -- in a new space that fit everyone -- I realized how impressed I was by the experience. Of course there was everybody's resilience and ability to keep on powering-through despite the obstacles. There was that. But there was also this strong democratic spirit, where everyone got a voice and everyone was truly participating in the writing of a report of proposals to be accomplished in the field of mental health in the city. This is the kind of democracy I don't think we have enough of - though I can see why too - it's arduous and time-consuming and sometimes you wish some people would just stop raising their hand with something more to say. Seriously, we even voted about whether or not to take a 30 minute lunch break or keep on soldiering on (Verdict: no break). I'd heard a bit about Porto Alegre's participatory budgeting before I came here and it's neat to see that this model of engagement is utilized beyond budgeting.

Yesterday, I had coffee with some psychology students attending the conference. "This is what all the conferences here are like," one of them said, "It's always the same style of conference. It's always the same thing happening and the same people talking. And nothing ever changes. I'm a pessimist about it, I don't see it changing."

"I do!" said the other student, "I have hope. Things will get better."

And so, we'll see. One pessimist. One optimist.

This was the first municipal conference in the city in almost a decade. Fingers crossed that the recommendations produced over the past three days will make a difference. At least there are many good, concerned, passionate people behind them.