CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News
August 26, 2003, Vol. 03-78
ADS CENTER SPOKESPERSON TRAINING
COUNTERING DISCRIMINATION AND STIGMA AGAINST PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESSES
Dear Colleague:
You are invited to participate in a free, one-day media spokesperson
training sponsored by the Resource Center to Address Discrimination and
Stigma Associated with Mental Illness (ADS Center), a program of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services
(CMHS).
The training, which will take place on September 29, 2003, at The Gallup
Organization, 901 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20004, is for advocates who
would like to improve their skills in dealing with the media. Each
participant will be responsible for his or her own lodging, transportation
and other expenses. The training will be presented by Vanguard
Communications, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm that develops and
implements social marketing campaigns. Vanguard is the lead subcontractor
on the Elimination of Barriers Initiative, another CMHS project that, like
the ADS Center, has as its goal the reduction of discrimination and stigma
associated with mental illness.
Following completion of the spokesperson training, participants will:
- Be able to more confidently and effectively present information to
desired target audiences via media and other public speaking opportunities;
- Deliver effective, persuasive messages to counter discrimination and
stigma to specific target audiences;
- Recognize the role of mental health stakeholders (consumers, family
members, providers, professionals, administrators, advocates) in communications efforts;
- Be more comfortable responding to challenging questions and crisis
situations;
- Communicate in people-first language;
- Overcome the fear of public speaking.
(If someone else from your organization would be more suitable for this
training, please forward this message.)
Space is limited. To be considered, participants must complete the
attached enrollment form and send it back to the ADS Center by September
8th. This will help us make the training more useful for participants.
Participants will be chosen on a "first come, first served" basis, also
taking into account geographic, racial, ethnic, and gender diversity.
For questions on this training, please contact Kevin Karg, 800-688-4226,
ext. 290, or chtemp@mhasp.org.
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The Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma
(ADS Center)
In order to help us assess your communications experiences in preparation
for the ADS Center spokesperson training, please take a few minutes to
answer the following questions.
Please return the completed form by September 8, 2003, to Kevin Karg via
e-mail chtemp@mhasp.org; fax (215-636-6312); or mail (Kevin Karg, MHASP,
1211 Chestnut Street, 11th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107).
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call Kevin at (800)
688-4226, ext. 290. Thank you in advance for your participation.
Name:
Title (if applicable):
Organization:
Address:
City, State and Zip:
Phone: (day) (eve.)
Fax:
E-mail:
PERSONAL INFORMATION (This information is optional. The intent is to
ensure diversity.)
1. Please describe yourself by checking all that apply:
Consumer/Survivor/Ex-Patient
Family Member
Researcher
Mental Health Professional
Advocate
Service Provider
Other
2. Gender
Male
Female
3. Race/Ethnicity (Please note: The categories below are the ones used by
the U.S. Census Bureau.)
White
Black or African American
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
Hispanic or Latino
Two or more races
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS
4. Please indicate any special accommodations or assistance you will need
for this training.
MEDIA ACTIVITIES/EXPERIENCE
5. Has there been any media coverage of your organization in the past
year?
No Yes (please describe below)
6. Overall, the coverage has been:
Mostly positive, Less than positive, Mixed
7. Please indicate if you have initiated contact with any of the following
media to discuss the discrimination/stigma related to mental illnesses.
Daily newspapers
Weekly newspapers
Local magazines
Newsletters
Professional journals
Radio stations
Television stations
Cable stations
Other
8. Are you the main person at your organization who participates in
interviews with the media?
No Yes
9. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 signifying no experience and 5 signifying a lot
of experience), please rate your experience with media interviews.
1 2 3 4 5
10. Which of the following media skills do you need to improve upon?
Developing a message.
Controlling your message
Creating sound bites
Answering questions
Handling hostile interviews
Crisis communications
Being persuasive
Reducing nervousness
Knowing your rights as an interviewee
Identifying challenging questions
Other, please list
11. Which of the following speech/presentation skills do you need to
improve upon?
Reducing nervousness
Developing stories/vignettes
Creating dialogue
Being persuasive
Developing deeper eye contact
Improving body language
Knowing your audience
Handling questions and answers
Using visuals
Other, please list
12. Have you contracted with a public relations vendor or do you have
available to you professional communications resources?
No Yes (please describe below)
CURRENT INITIATIVES
13. Are you part of an organization, or working with an organization, that
is leading an anti-discrimination/anti-stigma initiative?
No Yes (please describe below)
14. Please list the audience(s) that you would like to reach with your
overall (current or future) anti-discrimination/anti-stigma efforts (e.g.,
employers, service providers, educators, etc.).
15. What are the three most important points about mental illnesses/mental
health that you think your audience(s) should know?
1.
2.
3.
Thank you for your time and input. Before returning your completed form
to us, please make sure to keep a copy for your files. Please use the
space below to provide us with any additional information you feel would
be helpful to us in planning the spokesperson training.
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