Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL (1888PressRelease)
September 28, 2009 - The Hillsborough County Commission, the Mayor of The City of Plant City, and the Mayor of Tampa will proclaim October 4 to 10 as Mental Illness Awareness Week in our community. NAMI Hillsborough is the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness through support, education and advocacy.
Serious mental illness such as major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic disorder is a medical illness which affects one in four families living in the U.S. About 60 million Americans experience mental health problems in any given year and one in 17 live with the most serous conditions. Research has shown that treatment works and recovery is possible but only half of the people living with mental illness receive mental health care.
Untreated mental illness impacts every member of our community. We need to remove the stigma attached to mental illness, which can be achieved only through awareness and education. We can fight stigma by talking about mental illness and accepting those who live with it, which will lead to better mental health care services and the hope for recovery.
You can increase your awareness and knowledge of mental illness by attending one of NAMI Hillsborough’s events in observance of Mental Illness Awareness Week.
• Candlelight Vigil on Tuesday, October 6th, 7pm at 120 N Knights Ave, Brandon
• Observance on Wednesday, October 7th, 12 noon at the Joe Chirulla Park at the corner of Kennedy and Morgan, Downtown Tampa
For more information contact Celia Hersey (813)783-4020. You can visit our web site at namihillsborough.org to learn more about mental illness.
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