• Specific Programs That Fight Discrimination & Stigma


    • The Anti-Stigma Project was formed in 1993 by the Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration in collaboration with On Our Own of Maryland, Inc., a statewide consumer advocacy group. The project is a collaborative effort among mental health consumers, family members, providers, educators, and administrators, and is dedicated to reducing stigmatizing attitudes, behaviors, and practices within the mental health and substance abuse communities.



         The Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital is sponsoring an academic competition designed to decrease the stigma of mental illness.  The BrainDance Awards encourage students to gain knowledge about psychiatric diseases and develop a more tolerant and realistic perspective toward people with severe psychiatric problems. The competition also aims to promote students’ interest in careers in mental health care.


        Breaking the Silence is a series of recommended curricula for teaching children about mental illnesses, developed by three teachers who are also parents of children with mental illness.  Curriculum packets include lesson plans, posters, games, and recommended readings and videos.  There are separate curriculum packets for elementary school, middle school, and high school students.


     

      BringChange2Mind.org is a not-for-profit organization created by Glenn Close, the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation (CABF), Fountain House, and Garen and Shari Staglin of  IMHRO (International Mental Health Research Organization). Its mission is to provide information on mental illness to both people who have a mental illness and those who have misconceptions about mental illness.



       Compeer is a not-for-profit organization which matches community volunteers in supportive friendship relationships with children and adults receiving mental health treatment.  It has affiliates in most states and in some foreign countries.



       The Elimination of Barriers Initiative (EBI) is a 3-year initiative launched in September 2003 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA] aimed at identifying effective public education approaches to counter the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illnesses.



      Like Minds, Like Mine is New Zealand public education programme aimed at reducing the stigma and discrimination faced by people with experience of mental illness. The programme is funded by the Ministry of Health and guided by the Like Minds National Plan.



        Mental Health Connection of Tarrant County is a collaboration of public and private agencies, as well as individuals who need mental health care services and their caregivers. The organization works to revolutionize the mental health service delivery system in Tarrant County, Texas. The site provides news regarding mental illness, information on Mental Health Connection's initiatives, facts about mental illness and stigma, printable posters and bookmarks, and other helpful resources.



    mental health reporting   The purpose of this website is to provide tools and information for news organizations, journalists, journalism educators, and a broad coalition of news story informants on ways to improve reporting on mental health issues. Exemplar reports, self-care tips for journalists, facts about mental illness, and related videos are among the resources provided by the site.



     

      MIRA’s High School Awareness Project is designed to provide the most up-to-date  material on the brain and mental illness that is available to all Michigan high school teachers of Health and Psychology and to counselors.


        Created in order to educate the public about mental health issues and eradicate the fear, shame and stigma commonly associated with mental illness, NMHAC has as its primary goal the development of a nationwide, public service, multi-media education initiative. 


        OpenMindsOpenDoors is a Pennsylvania initiative aimed at ending discrimination against people with mental illnesses.  The campaign is coordinated by the Mental Health Association in Pennsylvania.


        Provides a model for establishing anti-discrimination an anti-discrimination programme and has been used in many countries.  A summary of the programme and its results in many different countries is contained in a book by Sartorius and Schulze, “Reducing the stigma of mental illness,” and is also available online.



        'See Me' is Scotland's national campaign to end the stigma and discrimination of mental ill-health. It is fully funded by the Scotish Government and was launched in 2002.



        SLO the Stigma is part of a broad effort to decrease stigma and raise public awareness of mental health and treatment resources in San Luis Obispo County in California. This site provides information about mental illness as well as contact information for various local psychological services. There are also several videos featuring insight and advice from individuals who are struggling with mental illness.



        Time to Change is England's most ambitious programme to end discrimination faced by people who experience mental health problems. It is led by Mind, and Rethink and receives funding from the Big Lottery Fund and Comic Relief. The program is evaluated by the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, London.



       This site aims at helping people who are living with a mental illness and their friends. It includes tools to aid in the recovery process, information on the different kinds of mental illnesses, real-life stories about support and recovery, and videos showing how friends can make a difference to those with a mental illness.