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THE MESSENGER 
Mental Health America of South Carolina

Babcock Building SC State Hospital   THANK YOU to EVERYONE who participated in the events April 3-5, 2014 in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Mental Health America of South Carolina.

 

On Thursday April 3, 2014, we enjoyed meeting together on the Bull Street campus of the South Carolina State Hospital one last time to honor those who have gone before us as individuals with mental illness, their families, mental health practitioners, and our faithful advocates for mental health. 

 

On Friday April 4, 2014, a special awards dinner, Champions of Mental Health, was held to honor those who have shown exemplary service in their field and who have served as inspirations to many through their dedication to serve those with mental illness in our state.

 

The following awards were presented at the Champions of Mental Health Awards Ceremony:

 

 The Distinguished Service Award is presented to someone who exemplified excellence and leadership in caring for persons with mental illness.This year's recipient worked for the South Carolina Department of Mental Health for 33 years. Since his retirement he has been a tireless advocate for Mental Health giving countless hours to NAMI SC and to NAMI Mid Carolina. Although it would seem that he would get tired with all his work for organizations he always takes the time to link people personally with services and resources that they need to make their lives better. The 2014 Mental Health Champion Distinguished Service Award was presented to Jack Balling.

  

The Recovery Ambassador Award was created to honor persons who have helped facilitate the Walk of Recovery for those who have mental illness. This year's award recipient has dedicated her life to education herself about mental health and substance abuse so that she can teach others how to start a personal journey of recovery. She has spent tireless hours in helping families and individuals learn techniques to overcome communication and mental health challenges. She has written three books on recovery skills and teaches classes on recovery and conflict resolution. She is active in her community, serving on several non-profit boards such as the Faces and Voices of Recovery. The 2014 Mental Health Champion Recovery Ambassador Award was presented to Beth Padgett.

 

This year, there are two Mental Health Professional Awards presented. Mental Health Professionals are the front line staff workers who work everyday helping people change their lives for the better in the mental health field. The first award recipient is not an individual who measures the amount of work he should do by what he has paid by by what the needs are of the people he serves. He has earned the admiration, love, and respect of his fellow co-workers and the clients he serves. He created and developed the Forensic Outreach Clinic to follow the NGRI population of the SC Department of Mental Health in 2000 and has continued to watch over and grow this program. His hard work, dedication to he job, and service to the mentally ill makes him a 2014 Champion for Mental Health- Mr. Bill Davis.

 

The second winner of the Mental Health Professional Award

  was presented to someone who has worked in the mental health field for over 30 years. She has always been known to go "above and beyond" to provide quality care for the clients she has served. She recently spent 48 hours at the Group Home she now works at to make sure the clients were taken care of during the snow ans ice. She has a wonderful sense of humor which makes her special to her clients, which also makes her a Champion for Mental Health, Ms. Janet Burke.

 

 The recipient for the Outstanding Mental Health Program in the State is celebrating 10 years of offering a person centered approach to Recovery. The purpose of the program is to allow clients the opportunity to direct their own recovery and advocacy processes while promoting skills for coping and managing their illnesses. These services promote self worth, boundary setting, meaningful work and activity, crisis planning and building healthy relationships with others. The 2014 Champion for Mental Health Outstanding Mental Health Program is the Recovery Zone, otherwise known as the Peer Support Program for Aiken Barnwell Mental Health Center.

 

 

The Mental Health Bell: A Symbol of Hope

Cast from shackles which bound them, this bell shall ring out hope for the mentally ill and victory over mental illness.
-Inscription on Mental Health Bell
 
During the early days of mental health treatment, asylums often restrained people who had mental illnesses with iron chains and shackles around their ankles and wrists. With better understanding and treatments, this cruel practice eventually stopped.
In the early 1950s, Mental Health America issued a call to asylums across the country for their discarded chains and shackles. On April 13, 1956, at the McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, Md., Mental Health America melted down these inhumane bindings and recast them into a sign of hope: the Mental Health Bell.

Now the symbol of Mental Health America, the 300-pound Bell serves as a powerful reminder that the invisible chains of misunderstanding and discrimination continue to bind people with mental illnesses. Today, the Mental Health Bell rings out hope for improving mental health and achieving victory over mental illnesses.

Over the years, national mental health leaders and other prominent individuals have rung the Bell to mark the continued progress in the fight for victory over mental illnesses.

 
 
Contact Us
Mental Health America of South Carolina
1823 Gadsden St.
Columbia, SC 29201
803-779-5363
866-929-6145
mha@mha-sc.org

Calendar of Events

April 16, 2014
IC HOPE Training at MHA Greenville
Greenville, SC

April 26, 2014
IC HOPE at the Eau Claire Festival
Columbia, SC

SAVE THE DATE:
October 26, 2014
10th Out of the Darkness Walks
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Columbia, SC
 

 
Congratulations Joy Jay, Director, Mental Health America of South Carolina

It is my great pleasure to welcome you here tonight to honor a remarkable woman and true champion of mental health in South Carolina. Many of you may know this amazing woman and if not you have probably heard her name mentioned in board rooms or offices across the state. In all honesty her name precedes her.

 For more than 35 years, Joy has worked tirelessly, going above and beyond to bring attention to the needs, living conditions and basic health concerns of members of our community who are afflicted by mental illness. Today thanks to people like Joy, countless individuals now lead successful, independent lives which once were only a dream for them.

Joy has helped educate the public, policy makers and you (the concerned members of the community) to the reality that even in this day and age with all the innovations in behavioral health and years of work, we still need more and our clients deserve more.

Joy leads by example and whether it is in dealing with her team at MHASC or directly with clients, board members or stakeholders that means treating people with dignity and respect and engaging them directly in the process of improving their own lives and the lives of others.

Her commitment to excellence and due diligence in service provision is inspiring. When she gets that look in her eye, we always know she's gonna ask us to push a little harder, reach a little further and stretch our funding as far as it can go to provide better care and services for our clients. And through it all stands beside us with sleeves rolled ready to go.

 We, the members of her team, are happy to honor her tonight because in fact it is an honor to work alongside this inspiring and compassionate woman every day.

(presented by Natasha Scott, MHASC Clinical Director, on behalf of the staff of MHASC and its Affiliates at Champions for Mental Health Award Ceremony)



 
Mental Health America of South Carolina has earned a Three-Year Accreditation from CARF International for its Day Treatment Psychosocial Rehabilitation (Adults) and Supported Living: Psychosocial Rehabilitation (Adults) programs.
CARF International is an independent, nonprofit accreditation of health and human services. CARF accreditation signals a service provider's commitment to continually improving services, encouraging feedback, and serving the community.
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