How the Movement Began

The consumer movement in Maryland began with the traditional mental health system in 1981 when a few individuals in the Baltimore area started meeting in the basement of a church in Catonsville, MD. The members eventually agreed to name the group On Our Own, the title of a book by Judi Chamberlin in the late 70s explaining how consumers create their network of support groups to provide alternative services.

One of their main activities was to provide peer-operated support meetings to all members, which went on until the organization officially became incorporated as On Our Own, Inc. in 1982. The same year, we received funding from the National Institute for Mental Health Community Support Program (NIMH-CSP) through the Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration to sponsor a statewide conference for mental health consumers.

Despite being the first conference of its type in the U.S., over 200 individuals attended the event held at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County campus in June 1982.

The following year, On Our Own, Inc. received additional federal and state funds to open a consumer-operated drop-in center in Baltimore, MD, also the first of its kind in the country. Not long after, On Our Own of Montgomery County was formed, and in January 1985, the second consumer-operated drop-in center was initiated, funded by MHA in Rockville, MD. Additionally, consumers organized an On Our Own group in Howard County.

In 1985, the Baltimore chapter hosted the first national primary consumer conference in the U.S., the Alternatives ’85, using funding from NIMH-CSP through the Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration. This was held at the College of Notre Dame, and more than 400 consumers from across the country attended, including representatives from Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.

The same chapter formed a statewide project called On Our Own of Maryland in 1986, with participation from other consumer groups, to have a more formalized structure for input into the mental health system.

Four years later, On Our Own, Inc. Baltimore, through the On Our Own of Maryland project, helped facilitate the start of a similar consumer group in Prince George’s County. Another group started in Anne Arundel County, MD, a year after.

On Our Own of Maryland, Inc. became an official, separate corporation in October 1992 after receiving a three-year federal service system improvement grant targeted for the establishment of a formal statewide consumer organization. What was a steering committee for this organization’s project became the official board of directors.

In March 1993, On Our Own of Maryland opened its offices south of Baltimore City, MD. Since then, the organization has provided technical assistance to new consumer groups organizing on the upper and lower Eastern Shore, Allegany, Calvert, Charles, St. Mary’s, Washington, Howard, Frederick, Anne Arundel, Carroll, Garrett, and Cecil Counties, MD.

On Our Own of Maryland conducts an annual summer conference for mental health consumers. The event allows individuals from across the state to learn what is happening in other parts of the country, meet other consumers, share ideas, and listen to a national spokesperson in the disability arena.

The group also engages in several other activities, including anti-stigma and advocacy training projects, as well as technical assistance, information and referral, and mental health systems monitoring and evaluation.

Our organization also received a new three-year federal grant designed to strengthen Maryland’s consumer network. With this grant’s assistance, we can have a statewide network coordinator whose job is to outreach to our local consumer groups at the county level and assist them with organizational development. A subsidiary corporation, Main Street Housing, Inc., was founded by On Our Own of Maryland to develop affordable, decent housing for consumers around the state.