Welcome Back Awards Honors Unsung Heroes in the Depression Community
17 May 2005 - 6:15AM
PR Newswire (US)
Welcome Back Awards Honors Unsung Heroes in the Depression
Community -- Emmy Winner and Mental Health Advocate, Linda Dano,
Will be Keynote Speaker -- ATLANTA, May 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Six individuals from across the nation will be honored for their
extraordinary efforts on behalf of those living with depression at
the seventh annual Welcome Back Awards on Saturday, May 21.
Emmy-award winning actress, Linda Dano, also will be on-hand to
share her story about how she's using a support network to help
overcome her depression. The Welcome Back Awards is a program
sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company. This year's winners will share
a total of $60,000 to be divided among not- for-profit
organizations of their choosing, which will help ensure that their
important work continues. The ceremony will take place in Atlanta
at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, at noon. Event keynote speaker,
Dano, one of television's most beloved personalities, recently
announced that she is battling clinical depression. She became
vocal about her story in hopes of touching others whose isolation
from, or embarrassment about, depression may be unnecessarily
prolonging or deepening the illness' grip on their lives. "As I
have come to learn, depression is a debilitating illness, but
what's worse is that so many people are afraid to talk about it and
reach out for the help they need," says Dano. "I feel privileged to
be a part of the Welcome Back Awards and am proud to stand along
side our six amazing winners who have done so much to shine a light
on this condition." The 2005 Welcome Back Awards honorees are:
Psychiatry: Jorge Petit, M.D., New York Associate Commissioner for
Program Services, New York City Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene Primary Care: Ana Lazu, Connecticut Founder, Latinos Unidos
Siempre Community Service: R Drake Ewbank, Oregon Care Coordinator,
SAFE, Inc. Destigmatization: Terry L. Wise, J.D., Massachusetts
International Public Speaker and Author, "Waking Up; Climbing
Through The Darkness" For the first time in its history, the
Welcome Back Awards selection committee honored two people this
year with the Lifetime Achievement award: Lifetime Achievement:
Linda Marie DiCianni, Arizona Board President, NAZCARE (Northern
Arizona Consumers Advancing Recovery and Empowerment) Lifetime
Achievement: Sally Shepherd, R.N., M.N., California Board
President, NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) San Diego
"Each one of these honorees has overcome adversity to challenge the
status quo and create new programs that teach the rest of us in the
depression community about the never-ending limits to innovation
that can heal," said Steven M. Paul, M.D., executive vice
president, science and technology president, Lilly Research
Laboratories. "They are an inspiration for the many lives they have
touched and forever changed through their work." About the Welcome
Back Awards The Welcome Back Awards was established in 1998 by
Lilly to fight the stigma associated with depression and to promote
the understanding that depression is treatable. Each year, an
independent panel of national mental health leaders recognizes five
individuals for their outstanding achievements, and Lilly awards a
donation of between $10,000 and $15,000 to the not-for- profit
organization of each winner's choice. Nominations for the 2006
Welcome Back Awards may be submitted by anyone wishing to recognize
an individual for outstanding achievements within the depression
community. For more information, call 800-463-6440 or visit
http://www.welcomebackawards.com/ . About Lilly Lilly, a leading
innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of
first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products by
applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories
and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations.
Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers --
through medicines and information -- for some of the world's most
urgent medical needs. Additional information about Lilly is
available at http://www.lilly.com/ . P-LLY (Logo:
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http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031219/LLYLOGO )
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http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031219/LLYLOGO DATASOURCE:
Eli Lilly and Company CONTACT: Helen DelleCave of Chamberlain
Communications Group, +1-212-884-0649
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