2006 Welcome Back Awards Winners Honored for Helping Reshape the Mental Health System
19 May 2006 - 11:03PM
PR Newswire (US)
-- Five Individuals from Across the U.S. will be Recognized at a
National Ceremony-- INDIANAPOLIS, May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
When Gayathri Ramprasad sought medical help for her depression
nearly 20 years ago, she was shocked to find herself in solitude in
a hospital room, forced to deal with her darkest moments alone. She
remembers thinking, "it's not me who is mad, it's the system."
Since then, she has devoted her life to raising awareness of
depression and educating patients and professionals on the benefits
of treating the whole person, not just the illness. Eli Lilly and
Company is proud to honor Ms. Ramprasad, along with four other
inspiring honorees, at the eighth annual Welcome Back Awards
ceremony in Toronto, Canada, on Saturday, May 20. Each year, an
independent committee of mental health leaders chooses five
honorees to receive a Welcome Back Award for their commitment to
helping others in the depression community. Committee member and
clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California at
San Diego, Rodrigo Munoz, M.D., comments on this year's unique
honorees: "They looked at the mental health system, saw a problem,
and sought to fix it," he states. "They have become agents of
change -- heroes to those they help and role models to their peers
in the depression community." The 2006 Welcome Back Awards honorees
are: Lifetime Achievement: Gayathri Ramprasad, M.B.A., Portland,
Ore. In the nearly 20 years since Ms. Ramprasad overcame the shame
and stigma of depression, she has worked endlessly to ensure that
no one feels the loneliness she felt in that hospital room. In
addition to raising awareness at local hospitals, she has played an
integral role on the national level with several mental health
campaigns, including NAMI Walks and the Silver Ribbon Campaign for
the Brain. She is currently producing a documentary called
BrainStorm: Mental Illness in America. In the fall of 2006, Ms.
Ramprasad hopes to fulfill her goal of spreading awareness around
the world as she begins a world-tour, Rally for Recovery, starting
in India, the country of her birth, where the stigma of mental
illness remains prevalent. Psychiatry: Mark Ragins, M.D., Los
Angeles When a social worker friend was killed by a homeless,
mentally ill man in Los Angeles, Dr. Ragins knew the true culprit
was a system that couldn't successfully care for its mentally ill.
Since then, he's helped build The Mental Health Association's
Village Integrated Service Agency, a model mental health agency
focusing on patient wellness and recovery instead of patient
illness. As the Village's medical director, Dr. Ragins has focused
on creating a program that feels more like a second home than a
hospital -- where treatment means more than just medication, and
patients are partners in the process of recovery. Dr. Ragins also
works alongside and mentors workers who reach out to the homeless
population in some of the poorest areas of Los Angeles. Primary
Care: Joan Esnayra, Ph.D., Arlington, Va. Dr. Joan Esnayra, a
successful scientist, was newly diagnosed with a mental illness
when she decided to get a puppy in order to lift her mood. To her
surprise, the puppy demonstrated an uncanny ability to signal Dr.
Esnayra in advance of major mood shifts, allowing her to work with
her doctor to adjust her medication dosage, accordingly. Dr.
Esnayra connected with others who reported similar experiences with
their dogs and she started an Internet support group. She coined
the term 'Psychiatric Service Dog' (PSD) and developed a
therapeutic model around training dogs to do tasks such as waking
up their owner in the morning, encouraging exercise and even
reminding their owner to take his or her medication. She founded
the Psychiatric Service Dog Society and has helped thousands of
mentally ill individuals learn how to train and use their own PSD.
She is conducting research on the efficacy of these canine
partnerships and will publish her results in clinical journals.
Community Service: Donna H. Barnes, Ph.D., Washington, D.C. After
losing her son to suicide, Dr. Barnes dedicated her life to taking
care of others like herself, to create a community of survivors.
She believes education is the most powerful tool in the healing
process and the fight for suicide prevention, and has taken a
leadership role on several college campuses, including Tufts and
Howard University, by developing innovative courses on suicide. Dr.
Barnes also focuses on suicide in minority communities, such as
Native Americans and African Americans whose suicide rates have
increased sharply in recent years.(i) Upon learning minority
communities were not addressing the epidemic of suicide, she
co-founded the National Organization for People of Color Against
Suicide (NOPCAS), which helps communities of color create an open
dialogue about mental illness and suicide prevention, and provides
support for those who have lost loved ones to suicide.
Destigmatization: Bebe Moore Campbell, Los Angeles A successful and
established author, Ms. Campbell considered herself an open-minded
person, until a family member was diagnosed with a mental illness.
Feelings of shame and embarrassment prevented her from providing
the love and support that can be crucial to recovery. Having
realized the impact of stigma first-hand, Ms. Campbell began using
her artistic talents to raise awareness. Her recent novel, 72 Hour
Hold, which refers to the amount of time the mentally ill in
California can be hospitalized without their consent, received rave
reviews and informed millions about the pervasive stigma of mental
illness. She also established and grew a chapter of the National
Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and continues working to
reinforce the idea that recovery is possible. This year's honorees
will share a total of $55,000 to be divided among not-for-profit
organizations of their choice, which will help ensure that their
important work continues. The ceremony will take place in Toronto
at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel on May 20, 2006 at 3 p.m. "All of
the honorees have turned innovative ideas into a reality, helping
millions around the country, and around the world, who struggle
with a mental illness," said John Hayes, M.D., vice president of
Lilly Research Laboratories and global brand development team
leader - Neuroscience, Eli Lilly and Company. "Their work is
tireless, their drive - endless, and I am honored to present
Welcome Back Awards to these individuals who are so truly deserving
of this recognition." 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. For the first time, nominees for the 2007
Welcome Back Awards will be able to nominate themselves as well as
be nominated by someone they know. Nominations may be submitted by
anyone wishing to be recognized for his or her outstanding
achievements in the depression community or wishing to recognize
someone else. 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/. O-LLY (i) National Organization
for People of Color Against Suicide: National Statistics.
http://www.nopcas.com/stats/. Accessed on 4/26/06 (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051107/WBALOGO )
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051107/WBALOGO DATASOURCE:
Eli Lilly and Company CONTACT: Amanda Peck of Chamberlain
Communications Group, +1-212-884-0640
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