Judi Chamberlin was a fierce, tender, and visionary leader in the Mad Pride and psychiatric survivor movements, whose life turned deep personal harm into a wellspring of solidarity and hope for others.[wikipedia
She was a warm, funny, and deeply humane person who carried a sharp sense of justice into every room she entered. Friends and comrades remember her as both brilliant and down‑to‑earth: someone who could speak truth to power in one moment and share laughter and companionship in the next.
After being locked in a psychiatric hospital as a young woman, Judi refused to accept a world where people in emotional distress were treated as less than fully human. She took that painful experience and transformed it into a lifelong commitment to building communities where people could define their own needs, make their own choices, and support one another as equals.
Through her organizing, writing, and everyday relationships, Judi helped shape Mad Pride as a movement rooted in dignity, mutual care, and pride in mad identities. She believed that “madness” is part of the human spectrum, and that people labeled mentally ill deserve not just services, but rights, respect, and real power over their lives.
Those who worked with Judi describe her as a “nicest warrior”: uncompromising about injustice, yet consistently gentle, generous, and encouraging with others. Even as she faced serious physical illness near the end of her life, she remained devoted to choice and autonomy, insisting on living and dying on her own terms, surrounded by people she loved.
Judi’s legacy lives in every peer‑run group, every rights‑based mental health space, and every person who dares to say, “We are not broken; we are worthy of freedom and joy.” For many in Mad Pride and disability communities, her memory is less like a statue on a pedestal and more like a hand at the small of the back, gently but firmly encouraging people to keep going, together.
We carry on her legacy in Judi’s Room. A collaboration between I Love Tou Lead On Community and MindFreedom International.