SAMHSA Honors Television, Film, Radio
SAMHSA recently honored television, film, and radio writers
and producers at the second annual Voice Awards, hosted
by Mariel Hemingway, at the Skirball Cultural Center
in Los Angeles, CA. Winners were recognized for creating
dignified, respectful, and accurate portrayals of people
with mental health problems.
“Because the entertainment field has the capacity
to influence how the public views important social issues,
it is critical that we acknowledge those who portray
issues related to mental health and mental illness accurately,”
said Assistant Surgeon General Eric B. Broderick, D.D.S.,
M.P.H., SAMHSA Acting Deputy Administrator.
Winners in the television category were the crime dramas
“Law & Order: SVU” (NBC) for the episode
“Ripped,” and “Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye”
(PAX) for the episode “Mind Games.”
Proof and Jellysmoke won in the film
category. In Proof, the daughter of a brilliant
mathematician affected by mental illness comes face to
face with her fears about her possible predisposition
toward mental illness. Jellysmoke explores the
adjustment to life outside a psychiatric hospital by
a young man with bipolar disorder.
In the radio category, winners included “Morning
Edition” (National Public Radio) for “Katrina
and Recovery.”
David Hoberman, co-creator and executive producer of
“Monk” (USA), received a Career Achievement
Award for his years of mental health advocacy. The TV
series stars Tony Shaloub as Adrian Monk, a former police
detective who is recovering from obsessive-compulsive
disorder.
In addition, SAMHSA presented Special Recognition Awards
to both Ruta Lee and Patty Duke for their long-standing
commitment to mental health advocacy.
Five mental health advocates received Consumer Leadership
Awards for raising awareness of mental health and expanding
understanding that mental health problems exist in every
community and affect almost every family in the Nation.
A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Carmen
Lee, a mental health advocate, and founder and executive
director of Stamp Out Stigma, a non-profit organization
dedicated to changing public perceptions of people living
with mental illnesses.
The Voice Awards are part of the National Anti-Stigma
Campaign, a program sponsored by SAMHSA with the Ad Council.
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Top left: Ruta Lee (center),
recipient of a Special Recognition Award, Dr. Eric
Broderick, SAMHSA’s Acting Deputy Administrator
(left), and Kathryn Power, M.Ed., Director of SAMHSA’s
Center for Mental Health Services (right).
Top right: David Hoberman, executive
producer of “Monk,” accepts his Voice
Award for Career Achievement.
Bottom left: Sandra McQueen-Baker,
a consumer leader from Miami, FL, accepts her Voice
Award.
Bottom right: Mariel Hemingway,
host of this year’s Voice Awards, presents
Carmen Lee, founder of Stamp Out Stigma, with a
Lifetime Achievement Award. |
For more information about the Voice Awards, visit SAMHSA’s
Web site at www.allmentalhealth.samhsa.gov/voiceawards.
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