Mental Illness Awareness Week - August Update

MIAW News - August 2008

Dear Supporter of Mental Illness Awareness Week:
Welcome to the August edition of the 2008 Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) newsletter.

In this month's newsletter:

Online Order System is Open – Order Campaign Materials Today

The online ordering system for MIAW campaign materials is now open. In addition to posters and bookmarks, MIAW brochures are now available. All MIAW campaign material features stories of Canadians who are successfully living with mental illnesses. Distribution of campaign materials will begin in early September.

To place your order, visit miaw-ssmm.ca.

Faces Campaign

For the next few months we will feature one of the Faces selected to appear on our 2008 Faces of Mental Illness campaign materials. This month we are pleased to introduce Sherri Matsumoto.

Sherri is a forty-six year old Japanese Canadian woman from Winnipeg who enjoys music, writing, painting, and poetry. She is a team member of the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society where she gives presentations and co-facilitates a workshop for children who have family members living with a mental illness. At the age of 14, Sherri was diagnosed with a mental illness, which was later identified as schizophrenia. Sherri spent many years in denial of this diagnosis, but realized she was mentally ill and needed assistance while in institutionalized care. She has very supportive family and friends and continues to be a strong advocate within the mental health community promoting recovery oriented services. Sherri is courageously telling her story to help reduce stigma so that people who live with a mental illness are seen for who they are, and not for the illness they have. One of Sherri’s mottos is, “Respect never goes out of style, so don’t stop using it.”

Stay tuned next month to meet Annie Beaudin and Vicky Laforge.

Champions of Mental Health Awards – Reserve Your Table Today

The Sixth Annual Champions of Mental Health Awards ceremony is in less than two months. This year, the Awards will be held at the prestigious National Gallery of Canada on Tuesday October 7th. More than 400 senior political, business and healthcare leaders will be in attendance.

Space is limited, and demand for tickets and tables is high, so don’t delay, reserve your spot today by contacting us.

Once again — thank you for your continued support! If you want to contribute in any way, please let me know.

National Director, Mental Illness Awareness Week
Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health
www.camimh.ca
www.miaw-ssmm.ca