NMHA Conference, June 2001

National Mental Health Association Annual Conference, June 2001 Featuring Survivors Art Foundation Artworks above that photo on page 2 the man on Marietta’s left with the purple shirt is her husband; and then Stuart Perry 6] the last photo on page 2 of me and a shorter woman is: Jill B. Pierce, Ph.D. Vice President, External Relations 7]the hyperlink to the “bell story” on the bottom of the 2nd page doesnt work Left to right: Candyce Brokaw, Founder and Art Director of SAF; Michael M. Faenza, MSSW, President and CEO, National Mental Health Association, Member, SAF Board; Marietta Dantonio-Fryer, SAF Outreach Coordinator Left to right: Marietta Dantonio-Fryer, SAF Outreach Coordinator; Candyce Brokaw, Founder and Art Director of SAF; students from Cheyney University; and far right, Gary Tauscher, Chairman of the Board of the National Mental Health Association Above and below: Totems from the “Totem Rhythms” Outreach Project with Native Americans from various Native Nations across the US. The first Nation that participated was the Thunder Mountain Clan of PA, November ,2000. The website for the Totem Rhythms Project is http://www.totemrhythms.org Silk paintings from the “Breaking the Walls of Bias” SAF Outreach Programs.There are 19 panels in total. Visitors viewing the “Seasons of Change” Mural. Facilitated by Marietta Dantonio-Fryer, SAF Outreach Coordinator, the “Seasons of Change” project is a silk painting mounted onto a wooden, butterfly-shaped frame. Young students collaborated with senior adults to promote greater awareness of the issues facing the elderly. Adults shared the wisdom gained from living long fruitful lives, and lessons were transmitted through silk biographies. The center of the butterfly is the tree of life, whith computer-scanned photos of each participant printed onto silk. Candyce Brokaw, Founder and Art Director of SAF, in front of the U.S. Capitol Totem Rhythms and ??? Left to right: Marietta Dantonio-Fryer, SAF Outreach Coordinator; and Marietta Dantonio-Fryer, SAF Outreach Coordinator; and Stuart Perry. The “Guardian Mural” (click name to view photos and more information about this SAF Outreach Program) Candyce Brokaw, Founder and Art Director of SAF; with Jill B. Pierce, Ph.D., Vice President, External Relations, in front of an NMHA display depicting the “Mental Health Bell” … The NMHA Bell Story “Cast from shackles which bound them, this bell shall ring out hope for the mentally ill and victory over mental illness.” (Inscription on NMHA Bell) During the early days of mental health treatment, asylums often restrained persons with mental illnesses by iron chains and shackles around their ankles and wrists. With better understanding and treatments, this cruel practice eventually stopped. In the early 1950s, the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) issued a call to asylums across the country for their discarded chains and shackles. On April 13, 1953, at the McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, MD, NMHA melted down these inhumane bindings and recast them into a sign of hope: the Mental Health Bell. Now the symbol of NMHA, the 300-pound Bell serves as a powerful reminder that the invisible chains of misunderstanding and discrimination continue to bind people with mental illnesses. Today, the Mental Health Bell rings out hope for improving mental health and achieving victory over mental illnesses. Over the years, national mental health leaders and other prominent individuals have rung the Bell to mark the continued progress in the fight for victory over mental illnesses. To see a photo of the 300-pound NMHA Bell click here.