Citizen Participation in the Development of a Community Mental Health Center

Through an ad hoc committee, an interim board, and then a permanent advisory board, citizens took an active part in developing a city-county community mental health center in a predominantly middle-class area of San Francisco. With staff cooperation, board members surveyed the needs of the catchment area and established programs to meet some of them; they also prepared a grant application, established a counseling center, and accomplished numerous other projects in the center's first three years. The authors also report on interviews with six board and six staff members on the reported strengths and weaknesses of citizen advisory boards.