The National Mental Health Association (NMHA) held its annual conference in June where it awarded its highest consumer honor, the Clifford W. Beers Award. Beers founded the NMHA in 1909 and was a consumer himself. This year's theme was: "Justice for All: Addressing America's Mental Health Disparities."
From June 6 to June 9, the conference offered a variety of speakers and workshops, which covered a range of issues dealing with disparities in care, including racism, cultural competency, poverty, adult consumer issues, advocacy, public education, children's mental health, justice system issues and good practices for NMHA affiliates throughout the country.
June 7th was advocacy day where delegations representing many of the states were preparing to lobby their representative on Capitol Hill. During the send-off breakfast, three national politicians spoke words of encouragement, Senators Pete Domenici from New Mexico and Paul Wellstone from Minnesota, and Representative Patrick Kennedy from Rhode Island. Domenici has a daughter living with schizophrenia. Wellstone has a brother living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Patrick Kennedy himself suffers from depression; all three have personal stakes in mental health.
June 8th was cultural competence day where Kana Enomoto of the Federal Center for Mental Health Services, L. DiAnne Bradford, associate professor, Morehouse School of Medicine, Jose Soto, vice president for affirmative action, Southeast Community College and Henrie Treadwell, program director, W.K. Kellogg Foundation spoke about the impact of race and poverty on access to quality care. The speakers explained how race impacted a person's ability to access treatment in their community and the role economic status played in seeking and receiving quality care.
June 9th was Mental Health Association day where staff and volunteers from NMHA's affiliates from all over the country learned from one another during meetings and workshops. At night was the final dinner where NMHA awarded various people for their outstanding achievements. Four youths, Brandon Fletcher, 14, Clayton Luchsinger, 12, Kaily Lyn Boyle, 14, and Katia Falcey, 18, were awarded Medals of Excellence for their courage in speaking about childhood depression and other disorders. The Tipper Gore 'Remember the Children' Award went to Janet Marich from the Mental Health Association of Lake County, Indiana for her work with troubled children. The final award that everyone was waiting for, the Clifford Beers Award was given to Bill Compton for his outstanding work in Los Angeles with 2,000 consumers.
After the final award, Stuart Perry from Georgia, last year's Clifford Beers winner, came on stage and in his closing remarks, with our Albany Advocate Joe Glazer, myself, and Max Dine, MD, 1998 Clifford Beers winner standing beside him got everyone to give a moment of silence for the late Ken Steele, New York City Voices' founder and staunch advocate for the mentally ill.