Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services Event Honors Leaders Who Promote Awareness of Mental Health and Substance Abuse’s Affect on Family
Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy,
Laugh Factory Founder Jamie Masada, and
Filmmakers Logan and Noah Miller Honored
CULVER CITY − On Friday, April 29, 2011, Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services will hold its 15th annual Erasing the Stigma Leadership Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel at 12:00 p.m. The Awards honor leaders whose advocacy and personal stories have countered the stigma too often associated with mental illness and substance abuse. They will be hosted by Christine Devine, Emmy-winning KTTV news anchor and longtime advocate for foster youth and adoption.
An estimated 57 million Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental illness. To highlight the impact of mental illness on the entire family and the vital importance of a family’s love and support, this year’s theme is “It’s a Family Affair.” Thanks to the honorees’ candor and advocacy, huge strides are being made to educate and heal those in need. Erasing the Stigma raises funds for Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services’ programs, including the agency's toll-free 24-hour Suicide Prevention Crisis Line (877- 7CRISIS) that serves Los Angeles and Orange Counties, and beyond.
2011 Erasing the Stigma Leadership Award Recipients
CONGRESSMAN PATRICK J. KENNEDY
Advocate and Legislative Visionary
Retired Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy will be honored for his outstanding leadership in mental health. As a member of Congress he co-sponsored the successful fight for parity, while also candidly sharing his own struggles with bipolar disorder and substance abuse. Although retired from politics, he has not abandoned his commitment to mental health. He recently founded The Next Frontier: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Brain, which is marshalling public and private funding for major initiatives to advance our understanding of the brain and its illnesses.
Congressman Kennedy’s Leadership Award will be presented by:
GAREN STAGLIN
Leadership Award Co-chair
Motivated by their son’s experience with schizophrenia, in 1995 Garen and Shari Staglin established the Staglin Music Festival for Mental Health followed by the International Mental Health Research Organization. Now the world’s leading fundraiser into the causes, treatment and prevention of schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, IMHRO and the festival have raised more than $114 Million for scientific research.
JAMIE MASADA
Comedy Innovator and Humanitarian
For Jamie Masada, who arrived in the U.S. alone without work or money, family extends far beyond biological ties. He founded The Laugh Factory at 16, because he hated seeing comedians exploited. Soon after, he created a Comedy Camp for underprivileged kids and also began serving Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, along with comedy, to the homeless and lonely. Because so many comedians suffer from depression and substance abuse, he recently added a special benefit for performers—therapy at the club. As Jamie explained, “This is something we have to do….I just can’t stand to watch all of my family [self-destruct] one by one.”
2011 Beatrice Stern Erasing the Stigma Media Award Recipient
The Beatrice Stern Erasing the Stigma Media Award honors leaders who have used the media to raise awareness and help erase the stigma of mental illness. It was established by Didi Hirsch Board Member Beatrice Stern, who believes that the constructive power of media can change hearts and minds as well influence policy.
LOGAN MILLER and NOAH MILLER
Writers, Directors and Producers of Touching Home
When the father of Logan and Noah Miller died homeless and alone in a jail cell, they vowed that they would make their film, Touching Home, as a testament to their love for him, despite his failings. After completing the film, their book, Either You’re In or You’re In the Way, followed. It is the amazing story of how—without a dime to their names, nor a single meaningful contact in Hollywood—they managed to write, produce, act in, and direct a feature film starring actor Ed Harris and a cast and crew with 11 Academy Awards and 26 nominations.
The Beatrice Stern Media Award will be presented by:
ED HARRIS
Actor, Director, Producer
Ed Harris has appeared in some of the most memorable films of our time, including The Hours, Pollock, The Truman Show and Apollo 13, which all garnered him Oscar nominations. He got his first taste of critical acclaim playing astronaut John Glenn in The Right Stuff (1983).
For more information and tickets to the event, please call 310-751-5420, email info@didihirsch.org or go to www.erasingthestigma.org.
About Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services
Founded in 1942, each year Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services helps more than 70,000 vulnerable youth and adults. With ten sites from Pacoima to MacArthur Park, Santa Ana to Venice, and many points in between, Didi Hirsch transforms lives by providing quality mental health and substance abuse services in communities where stigma or poverty limit access.