2000


From: NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

NIMH expands national outreach partnership

25 More Partners to Deliver Science-Based Messages Across Nation

Bethesda, MD - The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) today named 25 Outreach Partners for its Constituency Outreach and Education Program, which enlists State organizations in a nationwide partnership to help close the gap between mental health research and services. The program is a key element in a broader effort by NIMH to deliver science-based information on mental health to the public and health professionals and to increase awareness of research-based, effective treatments.

This second group of Outreach Partners for NIMH's 5-year communications initiative was chosen following a competitive process, bringing the number of Partners to 43. Additional Partners in the 8 remaining States and Puerto Rico may be named later this year or early next year.

The new Outreach Partners are:

AlaskaMental Health Association in AlaskaCaliforniaCalifornia Institute for Mental HealthConnecticutNAMI ConnecticutDelawareMental Health Association in Delaware and AMI DelawareIllinoisMental Health Association in IllinoisIowaIowa Consortium for Mental HealthKansasMental Health Association of South Central KansasMarylandMental Health Association of MarylandMassachusettsMassachusetts Association for Mental HealthMissouriMental Health Association of HeartlandMontanaiMental Health Association -Billings ChapterNebraskaFather Flanagan's Boys' Home/Boys Town National Research HospitalNevadaSalvation Army and Nevada Alliance for the Mentally IllNew HampshireNAMI New HampshireOklahomaeMental Health Association of TulsaOregonNAMI OregonSouth CarolinaMental Health Association in South CarolinaTennesseeMental Health Association of Middle TennesseeTexasMental Health Association in TexasUtahNAMI UtahVermontVermont Association for Mental HealthVirginiaUniversity of Virginia School of MedicineWest VirginiaNAMI West VirginiaWisconsinMental Health Association in Milwaukee CountyWyomingWyoming Alliance for the Mentally Ill and University of Wyoming

Each Outreach Partner conducts a mental health communications program for the public and health professionals, through media relations, statewide coalition building, and outreach to minorities and special populations such as youth and the elderly. Partners also sponsor educational efforts focusing on primary care physicians, nurses, employers, teachers and other groups and encourage participation in NIMH-supported clinical studies.

NIMH provides Outreach Partners with ongoing technical assistance in project-related activities, research updates through annual meetings, teleconferences and the Web, educational materials, opportunities to network on-line and collaborate with affiliates of diverse national organizations, and an annual stipend. Partners are invited to provide direct feedback to NIMH on its research priorities. Partners are required to submit progress reports to NIMH.

Several national organizations have a prominent role in the structure of the NIMH Constituency Outreach and Education Program. They include the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association, and the National Mental Health Association. A panel of nationally recognized mental health researchers, clinicians, and consumers provides expert assistance to the program. In addition, the program includes an Education Network of some 200 mental health, medical, education and business groups, whose State or regional affiliates may engage in coalitions with the Outreach Partners. For more information on the NIMH Constituency Outreach and Education Program, see http://www.outreach.nimh.nih.gov.

The first group of Partners, selected in March of this year, includes:
The Institute of Rural Health Studies, Idaho State University
Mental Health Association in Indiana, Inc.
Mental Health Association in Louisiana
Mental Health Association in Michigan
Mental Health Association in South Mississippi
Mental Health Association of Arizona
Mental Health Association of Broward County (Florida)
Mental Health Association of Minnesota
Mental Health Association of New York City, Inc.
Mental Health Association of Northern Kentucky
Mental Health Association of Rhode Island
Mental Health Association of the District of Columbia
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill-Maine
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Ohio
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Pennsylvania
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Washington
National Mental Health Association of Georgia
North Carolina Depressive and Manic Depressive Association

The National Institute of Mental Health is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Federal Government's primary agency for biomedical and behavioral research. NIH is a component of the Department of Health and Human Services.




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