Anti-Stigma : Coalition

A Chapter of Families Together in NYS, Inc.

Combating Discrimination Against People with Mental Illness

“Powerful and pervasive, stigma prevents people from acknowledging their own mental health problems, much less disclosing them to others. For our Nation to reduce the burden of mental illness, to improve access to care, and to achieve urgently needed knowledge about the brain, mind, and behavior, stigma must no longer be tolerated.”

Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General

Executive Summary

September XX, 2001

In January, 2000, in support of Surgeon General David Satcher’s report on Mental Health, Erie County Department of Mental Health Commissioner, Michael Weiner, called for the formation of a Task Force to fight the stigma associated with mental health disabilities. The Mental Health Association (MHA) and the Independent Living Center (ILC) were asked to provide the organization and leadership for this Task Force. The inaugural meeting of the Erie County Task Force to Fight Stigma, co-chaired by Marcie Kelley, Director of Recipient Services at Mental Health Peer Connection and Roger Stone, Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of Erie County, Inc. was held on August 24, 2000 with more than 50 community stakeholders in attendance including the Children’s Mental Health Coalition of WNY, Inc.

The Erie County Task Force to Fight Stigma kicked off its “billboard campaign” during World Mental Health Week, October 7 - 13, 2001. The theme of this campaign is “ Illness is Treatable. Treat It That Way. Along with the billboards displaying this theme, the Task Force will be sponsoring a number of events around the issue of mental health and mental illness.

Help Raise Awareness

Green Ribbon Day

Continue to check our site for updates for current events involving Anti-Stigma

Words Matter

Here are some ways you can use language to combat discrimination.

Positive Words	Examples	Negative Words
Have	She has a toothache He has depression	Suffer, are, burden, afflicted, struggling, victims
A person who first person	People with psychiatric disabilities are not generic. Person diagnosed with schizophrenia Person who has a psychiatric disability	The mentally ill, the homeless, bipolar, schizophrenic, non-compliant
Discrimination Prejudice	Mental Health specific words add to separation, shaming and stereotyping	Stigma
Less Visible	Mental illness may not be as visible as some other disabilities, but in English, hidden often suggests a reason to be secretive, ashamed	Hidden disability

information extracted from www.peoplewho.org/documents/wordsmatter.htm

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