MHCC was founded in 1976 by a group of Mental Health Consumers on the grounds of the old Contra Costa Regional Hospital. This dedicated group of advocates adopted the position that they wanted to speak for themselves and have a voice in determining the treatment approaches that would ultimately impact the course of their lives. The excessive use of involuntary commitments, forced restraints and seclusions were the fuel that gave birth to the Mental Health Consumer Civil Rights Movement in the 1970’s, and remain the core values and driving principles of MHCC today. The idea that no decision regarding consumers’ care or treatment should or could be made “about me without me,” which has given rise to the powerful and often used motto, “Nothing About Us, Without US”.
