CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News
November 4, 2003, Vol. 03-103

NEW WEB-BASED RESOURCE LAUNCHED TO ADDRESS DISCRIMINATION AND STIGMA ASSOCIATED WITH MENTAL ILLNESS

A new Web site has been launched to serve as a centralized resource in collecting and providing information for addressing discrimination and stigma associated with mental illnesses.

The recent President's New Freedom Commission Report, Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America, identifies stigma as a pervasive barrier to understanding mental illnesses and the importance of mental health. It points out the need to reduce stigma by increasing public understanding about mental health and mental illnesses with multi-faceted approaches, such as public education activities, factual information, dialogues, and interpersonal contact with people with mental illnesses. The new Web site serves as a comprehensive resource of useful information to address this need.

The Web site, www.adscenter.org, offers a wealth of useful information related to stigma and discrimination. Descriptions of innovative international, national and local anti-stigma/anti-discrimination initiatives and programs can assist people to build understanding and knowledge related to people with mental illnesses. Also, this information can be used to identify and implement specific activities to counter discrimination and stigma in communities, schools, and workplaces. Information on resources such as articles, fact sheets, brochures, books, data bases, and research are provided on issue areas such as employment, housing, healthcare, the media and many more. Numerous resource organizations are listed to help landlords, employers, insurers, healthcare providers, educators, and others better understand mental illnesses and the people who have them.

Also available on the Web site is a periodic memorandum, with information on new and/or innovative resources and campaigns, research, and columns by people involved in countering stigma and discrimination. The Web site is associated with the Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma (ADS Center).

The goal of the ADS Center is to help States, local communities, providers, managed care organizations, advocates, family members, and consumers of mental health services to design and implement programs to reduce stigma and the discrimination and prejudice it engenders. The Center provides useful resources and information about effective approaches to counter stigma and discrimination. It offers information about available publications, events and relevant issues, provides technical assistance and trainings through on-site assistance and teleconferences, and brokers speakers to make presentations.

The ADS Center's toll-free number is 1-800-540-0320 and the Center is open Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (ET) with bilingual (English/Spanish) staff available.

The ADS Center is a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, and operated by a contract with The Gallup Organization and the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

*************************************************

The Center for Mental Health Services is a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services.