NAMI NH Honors Outstanding Service to Mental Health Community
Special Award for Teacher, Student Who Crafted Statewide Model Lesson Plan
BEDFORD, N.H. - The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, New Hampshire honored individuals and organizations tonight with their Annual Awards recognizing their contributions to the mental health community. NAMI NH also gave a Special Award to a teacher and student from the Brookline-Hollis Middle School for their fight against the stigma of mental illness, an effort that has become a statewide model for New Hampshire schools.
"These award winners have given their skills, their hearts, their time and their energy to help improve the quality of the lives of persons with mental illness and their families," said Michael Cohen, Executive Director of NAMI NH. "We believe recovery from mental illness is possible with a commitment from all members of the community, and each of these award winners represents the very best of the community."
NAMI NH held its Annual Awards ceremony and annual meeting at the Bedford Village Inn in Bedford, N.H. The event honored winners from across New Hampshire in 13 categories. NAMI New Hampshire is a grassroots, non-profit serving people and families coping with mental illness by providing advocacy, education and support. NAMI NH is dedicated to improving the quality of life for those affected by mental illness, reducing societal stigma and discrimination against persons with mental illness and emotional disorders, and advocating for fair and equitable funding and policies for mental health-related services and research.
Receiving a special award were teacher Christy Grief and 7th-grader Devin MacDonald of the Brookline-Hollis Middle School. Ms. Grief led a 7th-grade class in a discussion of the stigmas surrounding mental illness. Part of the class discussion centered on how stigma impacts fundraising for research of mental illness. As Ms. Grief wrote:
"I asked the class if they had heard of walks for breast cancer, AIDS, diabetes, and they all said yes. Then I asked if they had ever heard of a walk for, say, schizophrenia. The answer was no."
Ms. Grief's lesson inspired Devin MacDonald to organize a walk for mental health that raised $3,000. After researching options, Devin decided to donate the money to NAMI NH. NAMI NH plans to use the funds to reproduce and distribute Ms. Grief's lesson plan to schools across New Hampshire to incorporate into their curriculum.
"We are so inspired at NAMI NH by the thoughtfulness of Christy and Devin to educate students and the public about negative impact of the stigmas surrounding mental illness. Their work is so important that we want to share it with all schools in New Hampshire so that we can teach our youth the truth about mental illness and eradicate the negative stigma," Cohen said.
NAMI NH also recognized equally inspiring individuals with their Annual Awards in 12 categories. The accomplishments of these individuals and the reasons they were given the awards are contained in the events program. The award winners are:
Adult Psychiatrist Award – Gwen Barros - West Central Behavioral Health/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Recovery Program, Claremont
Adult Therapist Award – Carol Copanas - Community Council of Nashua, Nashua
Educator Award – Laurie Belanger - Gilford High School, Gilford
Mental Health Worker Award – Teresa Bryant - New Hampshire Hospital, Concord
Mental Health Administrator Award – Jesse Turner - West Central Behavioral Health, Lebanon
Family Volunteer Award – Rebecca and Steve Lawrence - Volunteers, Cheshire County
Consumer Empowerment Leader Award – Dan Bailey - Volunteer, Merrimack County
Legislative Leader Award – Dr. James Pilliod - NH Representative, District 5, Belmont
Media Award – Kristen Proulx Jarvis, Concord Monitor, Concord
Systems Change Award – In Our Own Voice Presenters - 20 Presenters throughout the State
Advocate Award – Pam Brown - Volunteer, Hillsborough County
Legal/Law Enforcement Professional Award – Laconia Police Department - Laconia
