Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month Observances

Friendship West Baptist Church, National Alliance on Mental Illness and

LIft Every Voice Family and Community Development Project

Observes

BEBE MOORE CAMPBELL NATIONAL MINORITY MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH

Dallas, Texas - Friendship Wst Baptist Church, the Southern Sector affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and Lift Every Voice Family and Community Development Project, will sponsor: Bridging the Gap between Illness and Resilience 25 July 2009 from 9:00 am tdo 1:00 pm in observance of Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month to raise awareness about severe mental illness in diverse communities. Keynote adress will be given by Dr. Ouida Lee, Senior Pastor Church of the Disiple, Cedar Hill, Texas.

The purpose of this event is to help families and communities become familiar with the scope of the challanges faced by minority adolescents and college students, the enormity of the chasm they must traverse and how together we can help them bridge the gap 'From Ilness to Resilience'.

"Unfortunately, disparities in mental health care still prevent people in diverse communities from getting the treatment that they need," said Marian Hubbard Jefferson of Lift "Our goal is to educate people about mental illness, treatment and research, and to eliminate stigma. All people deserve access to quality mental health services."

Mental illness affects one in four American families and people in diverse communities are no exception The U.S. Surgeon General reports that minorities:

• are less likely to recieve diagnosis and treatment for their mental illness
• have less access to and availability of mental health services
• often recieve a poorer quality of mental health care
• are underrepresented in mental health research

For additional information about National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, and to access resources and suggested activities, visit: www.nami.org/minoritymentalhealthmonth.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness, http://www.namie.org/, is the nation's largest grassroots mental helath organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness