CONSUMER AFFAIRS BULLETIN
Volume 3, No. 1 Winter 1998

Walk the Walk

Plans for an unprecedented "walk" to heighten Americans' understanding of mental illness have been announced by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrator Nelba Chavez, Ph.D. (SAMHSA). All Americans with mental illness, their friends, families and supporters are urged to walk the walk.

"We want to educate the American people about mental illness and to salute the courage of thousands of consumers who struggle with it daily," Dr. Chavez said.

"We are optimistic this historic walk will begin the process of changing America's attitudes about mental illness," said SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) Director Bernard S. Arons, M.D.

The driving force behind "Walk the Walk: for lives touched by mental illness" is the partnership of the nation's major mental health organizations in support of a common cause -- to help dispel negative preconceptions about people with mental illness, gain equal treatment for people with mental illness and celebrate mental health. The one-mile walk will be 11:00 a.m., Saturday, May 2 in downtown Washington, D.C.

Joining SAMHSA's CMHS in support of "Walk the Walk" are:
American Counseling Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Nurses Association, Anxiety Disorders Association of America, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Congressional and Cabinet Spouses' Mental Health Task Force, Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services, MADNESS: User Voices in Public Mental Health, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, National Association of Psychiatric Treatment Centers for Children, National Association of Social Workers, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), National Institute of Mental Health, National Mental Health Association and National Mental Health Consumer's Self-Help Clearinghouse.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, Mental Health Policy Advisor to the President Mrs. Tipper Gore, and former First Lady and Chair of the Carter Center Mental Health Task Force Mrs. Rosalynn Carter are honorary co-chairs of the walk.

Walk the Walk organizers anticipate thousands of people from across the nation will congregate at Freedom Plaza in downtown Washington, D.C.
For more information about Walk the Walk, contact: SAMHSA's National Mental Health Information Center at (800)789-2647, or http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov or call the Volunteer Information Line (703) 714-2378.

Consumer Affairs Bulletin
Volume 3, No. 1, Winter 1998
CMH98-5017