2009 Voice Awards
SAMHSA Honors Consumer Leaders, Writers, and Producers
Those in the entertainment industry are in a unique position to reach millions of viewers. At the 2009 Voice Awards, SAMHSA honored writers and producers who ensured an accurate portrayal of mental health issues.
Awards also were given to outstanding leaders in the mental health recovery movement who are working to promote the social inclusion of people with mental health issues and the possibility of recovery.
The event was hosted by Academy Award-winning actor and mental health consumer Richard Dreyfuss at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles.
SAMHSA bestowed Consumer Leadership Awards on five mental health advocates and community leaders—Eric Arauz (North Brunswick, NJ); Marian Bacon (Memphis, TN); Mark Davis (Philadelphia, PA); John Kevin Hines (San Francisco, CA); and Ann Kirkwood (Boise, ID). The Young Adult Leadership Award was given to T.J. Curtis (Brooklyn, NY).
These individuals were honored for their work to promote community acceptance and support to facilitate recovery for people with mental health issues.
A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Mary Ellen Copeland (West Dummerston, VT) for her contributions to the mental health recovery movement. Through her own experience with manic depression, she has conducted research and written many books on mental health recovery. Ms. Copeland also developed the Wellness and Recovery Action Plan, a simple self-help system for identifying personal resources to get and stay well.
In addition, former U.S. Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon and Mrs. Sharon Smith, whose son Garrett died by suicide at age 21, received the SAMHSA Spotlight Award for heightening awareness about suicide prevention.
Senator Smith put forth legislation called the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act to provide funding for youth suicide prevention activities. These funds contribute to SAMHSA’s Campus Suicide Prevention Grant program. See SAMHSA News online, November/December 2007 and May/June 2009 for highlights of how colleges and universities around the Nation use these funds to help keep young people safe.
SAMHSA honored five-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close with a Special Recognition Award for her work to educate the public about the effect of stigma on those with mental illness and their families.
Writers and producers received Voice Awards for their work on the following projects. The specific mental health issue addressed is in parentheses.
- “Grey’s Anatomy” for the episode “Sweet Surrender” (post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD])
- “United States of Tara” for the episode “Inspiration” (dissociative identity disorder)
- “90210” for the episodes “Off the Rails” and “Okaeri, Donna!” (bipolar disorder)
- “Monk” for the episode “Mr. Monk’s 100th Case” (obsessive compulsive disorder)
- “Law & Order: SVU” for the episode “Trials” (PTSD)
- “In Treatment” for the episode “Gina” (depression)
- Front of the Class, a made-for-television movie (Tourette’s Syndrome).
- The Soloist (schizophrenia)
- Lars and the Real Girl (delusional disorder)
- Michael Clayton (bipolar disorder)
- Helen (depression)
- Autism: The Musical (autism)
- In a Dream (delusional disorder)
- MTV Network’s “True Life: I Have Schizophrenia” (schizophrenia).
See a full list of 2009 winners.
The GlassBook Project—an innovative art project program of Witness Justice and Rutgers University-Newark, Department of Arts, Culture and Media to increase social inclusion of individuals with mental illness—was showcased at this year’s event. See SAMHSA News online, September/October 2009 for more information on the GlassBook Project.
Find out more about SAMHSA’s Voice Awards.
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(L to r) Eric Arauz, Ann Kirkwood, T.J. Curtis, event host Richard Dreyfuss, Mark Davis, Kevin Hines, Mary Ellen Copeland, Marian Bacon, CMHS Director Kathryn Power, M.Ed., and Acting SAMHSA Administrator Eric B. Broderick. Mr. Arauz, Ms. Kirkwood, Mr. Davis, Mr. Hines, and Ms. Bacon received Consumer Leadership Awards. Mr. Curtis received the Young Adult Leadership Award. Ms. Copeland was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. |
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Former Senator Gordon Smith (left) and his wife Sharon Smith (right) received the SAMHSA Spotlight Award for heightening awareness about suicide prevention. |
Actor Ice-T accepts the Voice Award on behalf of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” |
Cast and crew from the film Autism: The Musical smile for a photo upon arrival at the Paramount Studios Theatre. |
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Actor Aasha Davis (left) presents a Voice Award to writers William Harper (center) and Sonay Washington (right) for “Grey’s Anatomy.” |
Paolo del Vecchio, M.S.W., Associate Director for Consumer Affairs at CMHS (left), presents Mary Ellen Copeland (right) with the Lifetime Achievement Award. |
Gary M. Blau, Ph.D., Chief of SAMHSA’s Child, Adolescent, and Family Branch at CMHS (left), presents T.J. Curtis (right) with the Young Adult Leadership Award. |
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