In Memoriam
William H. Compton Jr.
Director of Project Return Peer Support Network
sponsored by the National Mental Health Association of Greater Los Angeles
William H. (Bill) Compton Jr., whose vision and voice as a national leader in the mental health “consumer
empowerment” movement helped improve lives and the mental health system by giving people with mental
illness a greater stake and say in the services they receive, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was
61 years old.
Remembrances of Bill’s accomplishments include a resolution from the national Mental Health America, which
honored Bill as a “giant in the mental health movement in America.” A Los Angeles Times obituary noted that
the “philosophy he helped promote – that mentally ill people must be active players in efforts to assist them –
has influenced public policy and aided thousands in their bids to make the kind of turnaround he made.” He
was recognized in a column by renown Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez.
Bill’s leadership – as director of a program that helps people with mental illness in their personal and
professional development and as an advocate working to promote awareness of the abilities of people with
mental illness – brought those recovering from mental illness into fuller participation in community life.
In the 1990s, Bill’s professional arrival in mental health work coincided with the advent of the “consumer
empowerment” movement. Believing there should be “nothing about us without us,” members of this
movement help to ensure that the viewpoints of people with mental illness are essential parts of designing
and delivering responsive mental health care.
Emerging as one of the movement’s leaders on local, state and national levels, Bill used his own recovery from
mental illness to inspire other consumers and to inform professionals and the public about the potential of
people with mental illness. His history included a diagnosis of schizophrenia and a nine month period of
homelessness on Hollywood streets. Bill held a master’s degree in theater arts and prior to his mental illness
managed theaters in New York, Boston and Los Angeles.
One of his greatest contributions was the growth of the Project Return Peer Support Network into one of
California’s premier selfhelp programs run by and for people with mental illness. Project Return supports
individuals in their life goals, such as living independently, having jobs, pursuing education, volunteering in
their communities and benefiting from a support network.
Drawing on his personal experience, professional management skills and principles about empowerment and
equality, Bill built his program by emphasizing that recovery is a reachable goal for people with mental illness,
and that peertopeer support is a valuable part of the recovery process. People are not defined by an illness,
he believed, but should be recognized for their skills and encouraged in developing their abilities.
As an advocate, Bill was active on local, state and national levels to ensure that consumer viewpoints were
heard on public policy issues. In 2002, he was asked to organize the testimony of mental health clients for
the Los Angeles visit of President Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.
Bill was a staunch and sincere advocate who believed in partnerships, recognizing that strength came from
building bridges among consumers, professionals, families and community. Bill was elected to the Mental
Health America Board of Directors, serving with professionals, families and citizen advocates across the
nation. In California, he served as Board chairman for local and statewide charities, including Pacific Clinics,
the largest mental health provider in the state, and the California Network of Mental Health Clients.
Among his national honors, he was presented with the Clifford Beers Award from Mental Health America.
Named after the this organization’s founder – a person who had mental illness – the award is given to the
person who best carries on convictions to help people with mental illness live with quality and equality.
To honor Bill’s memory, MHA and Project Return are establishing a memorial fund which will help ensure that
consumer viewpoints continue to be a part of mental health planning and policy. Donations made be sent to:
William H. Compton Jr. Memorial Fund, c/o MHA, 100 W. Broadway, Suite 5010, Long Beach, CA 90802.
To make an online donation, please go to https://secure5.innotech.com/mhala/donationform.htm and enter Bill’s name in the memorial line. For information, call MHA at (562) 2851330, ext 225.