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Every year, the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) has its conference in Washington, DC, a place to gather together to see what is going on in mental health. Here we have an opportunity to renew our sense of commitment and vigor to the cause.

For those of you who have never attended one of these conferences, there is a lot being offered. We hear from the voices of advocacy and come to these events to touch base with those working on the front lines and in the trenches. We hear about lack of funding for mental health due to the overspending on the war in Iraq. Then we hear of a positive shift in our government's attitude toward mental illness and reports on government-funded public outreach and education.

NMHA's new Chairperson Cynthia Wainscott says she intends to focus on: 1) Recovery—the ability of consumers to lead full and productive lives in the community; 2) Prevention—early diagnosis, intervention and treatment; and 3) Children—the mental and emotional healthcare of vulnerable children. Depression affects Mrs. Wainscott's mother, daughter and granddaughter. Thanks to prevention, her granddaughter has not become disabled by mental illness and lives just as normally as if she had to manage diabetes. She not only follows a treatment plan, but freely talks about her experiences with friends.

The young represent the future. Four people: Adam Oates, age 14, Kristina Hebner, 17, Marley Prunty-Lara, 19, and Kristy Worthen, 25 are from different parts of the country and each work to shape a more positive public image of mental illness. They do this by sharing their stories with the public and by meeting with decision-makers of all levels. The vision is for more people to come out with mental illness, unafraid and unashamed and be accepted. Change is in the winds.

During the workshop "Eliminating Barriers by Fighting Stigma," Associate Director for Consumer Affairs Paolo del Vecchio, expressed the thought that the mental health community needs a "National Coming Out Day." This strategy is used by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in their efforts to put a face to the issue of LGBT human and civil rights. This proved to be a very successful strategy as many people, from public figures to common citizens, "came out" to challenge public stereotypes about LGBT people. We believe that this type of strategy, along with public awareness and celebratory parades as the Latino, Irish, LGBT and other communities have, merit consideration and discussion as tools to fight the stigma associated with mental illness.

The mental health movement may also want a flag to represent its up-and-coming community. The aforementioned Ms. Worthen created one such flag that President George W. Bush signed and that has been flown in 29 state capitals thus far. The flag is five feet by nine feet with a white lighthouse trimmed in red, which sits on an island with a beam of yellow light that shines over the ocean with the slogan, "Shedding Light on Mental Health Issues." For more information on this incredible project, please visit www.netmountain.net/kristyworthen. We ask: will the lighthouse flag become a much-needed unifying symbol for the mental health community? One that will galvanize the spirit and aspirations of our community?

Looking to the future, there are a couple of areas that the next conferences might want to address with greater emphasis. One area is the well-being of senior citizens. No doubt such increased emphasis will develop quite naturally as the Baby Boomer generation meets its golden years, creating the largest population of senior citizens this country has ever seen.

A second area that screams out for greater attention is with LGBT people, most particularly among the young dealing with issues of sexuality and gender identity. The frighteningly high incidence of teen suicide among this group of children speaks for itself. If confronted and dealt with, perhaps sexuality and gender identity issues need not be so much of a problem for people. No doubt, as the broader society comes to accept the diversity among itself without stigma, these issues will be much easier to overcome for those who also live with mental illness.

Still, we see the mental health community having a greater sense of unity, power and purpose. Leaders are emerging all across the U.S. More political leaders are listening to the issues. Let's not forget the consumers of all backgrounds who have come out of the closet to fight stigma at every level of society.