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The Picnic for Parity is putting down ever-deeper roots in New York. On May 11th, close to 20,000 people from all walks of life attended the Seventh Annual Picnic for Parity. With the support of Mr. Ethan Lercher and the Bryant Park Restoration Commission, this most exquisite park served as a wonderful venue for this event, dedicated to affirming that access to mental health care is an issue of civil rights; in other words, that no-one should have any less access to care because of the type of illness they have, namely a mental illness. It was an event to challenge the stigmatized face of mental illness by showing ourselves to our fellow citizens as people for whom fair treatment and fair understanding of mental illness matters.

Under a glorious sunny day, with balloons, the Nick Aldersacky band from Baltimore, the actor Christopher Wells as our master of ceremony, the roving exhibit "Pillows of Unrest" from the National Artists for Mental Health, a picnic lunch prepared by the Bridge Inc, and hats from Special Tees in Staten Island, all this amidst a myriad of yellow and blue balloons, the event called upon all in the mental health community to fraternize, build a new solidarity, and salute our efforts at making change happen.

This year, there was a very special focus on children's mental health. Under the leadership of Rachelle Kammer from the New York City Mental Health Association, an art exhibit, a very detailed booth, and a puppet show with the "Kids on the Block" puppet theater company all presented the dire problems and critical need for improved mental health care for children.
As before, we wished to honor those whom in our view have contributed to the betterment of all who suffer from mental illness.

For the first time we awarded the Kenneth Myron Steele Memorial Awards for advocacy, in honor of our dear departed friend Ken Steele. As Consumer of the Year, Nancy Walder, president, Morningside Community Action Corporation was selected for her unwavering devotion to mental health advocacy; Joan Papageorgiou, supervisor, After School Program, Steinway Children and Family Services Inc, Long Island was selected as Family Advocate of the Year. National Advocacy awards were given to Laurie Flynn, ex-director, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill; Michael Faenza, president, National Mental Health Association, and David Satcher, M.D., Surgeon General of the United States.

But as Mississippi becomes the latest state to pass a Parity law, New York continues to resist the passage of a similar law. Our efforts must continue to achieve this basic fairness in our health care system. At the same time, the Picnic has become an increasingly integral part of our mental health community. As we embark on a year of reorganization, and restructuring, we look forward to continuing to foster better understanding and better treatment for mental illness and substance abuse disorders, and to nurture ourselves into a more vital and cohesive mental health community. See you next year.