President’s Column with Dr. David Shern
Honoring the Life and Legacy of Clifford Beers
 Dear Mental Health Advocates,
Mental Health America celebrated an incredible milestone in February —our
100th Anniversary. Mental Health America staff and supporters gathered at the
McClendon Center, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. that serves
individuals with mental health conditions, to honor our Founder Clifford Beers
and the millions of Americans who have contributed their time and effort to the
organization over the past 100 years. And we issued our Call for Action that “It’s
Time for Mental Health.” It’s time to give mental health the voice and attention it
deserves because it is essential to health and well-being of every American.
This issue of The Bell also marks a milestone: it is our first online edition.
By “going green” and utilizing the web landscape, we can present you with even
more information each quarter on Mental Health America’s advocacy, public
education and affiliate activities and events.
The majority of this issue is dedicated to our 100 year celebration. We hope you enjoy reading about it
and we look forward to you joining us in June for our Centennial Conference and Gala celebration.
In February, we unveiled our Centennial video, which you can view by visiting www.mentalhealthamerica.net. I encourage anyone who has not yet viewed it to do so. Only two minutes long, it tells the story of one man’s dream to overcome prejudice, abuse and ignorance. What began as our Founder Beer’s vision forged America’s mental health movement and established what is now known as Mental Health America.
At our momentous Centennial Celebration, Mental Health America also unveiled its realLIVES program. Each day, realLives grows with now more than 200 mental health consumers contributing and sharing their stories of their daily challenges and victories of managing their mental health conditions. If you have not already done so, please take time to review this new site: www.mentalhealthamerica.net/reallives. We are continuously encouraging submissions to realLIVES, which provides mental health consumers a true voice and community.
Throughout this Centennial year, we are asking all Americans to take our” Centennial Pledge,” linked at http://takeaction.mentalhealthamerica.net. Help us ring the bell for mental health and our nation’s health and well-being. Add your name to our Centennial Pledge and then forward it along to everyone on your e-mail lists.
Later this year, we will mark a century of achievement with all of our affiliates and attendees at our Centennial Conference: Celebrating the Legacy, Forging the Future, June 10-13th. Bringing together advocates, educators, researchers, health professionals, and business and community leaders, you won’t want to miss this landmark event. Taking place as a new Administration and new Congress set new health care priorities for the nation, the Centennial Conference will inform, educate and inspire. This premiere health care gathering presents an unparalleled opportunity to learn first-hand how to be an architect of change and meet the challenges of this century: Be sure to take advantage of early registration rates today by going to the signup page at http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/conference/register.
Our Centennial Gala, which takes place on the evening of Thursday, June 11, 2009, is chaired by Mrs. Tipper Gore and will bring together national leaders and celebrity entertainers to celebrate Mental Health America's 100th anniversary. We will also be honoring Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) with the first-ever Mental Health America Legacy Award in recognition of their leadership on the recently passed Mental Health Parity Act, which will bring parity in insurance coverage to people with mental health disorders.
As we move forward in this year, I am reminded of how much we have accomplished over the past 100 years. But I also recognize the challenges we face and know we will not rest.
It’s Time for Mental Health!,
David L. Shern
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