Patrick Hendry of Mental Health America to be Honored by SAMHSA with 2014 Voice Award for Consumer/Peer Leadership

Patrick Hendry of Mental Health America to be Honored by

SAMHSA with 2014 Voice Award for Consumer/Peer Leadership

Contact: Steve Vetzner, (703) 797-2588 or svetzner@mentalhealthamerica.net

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (July 23, 2014)— Patrick Hendry, Senior Director for Consumer Advocacy at Mental Health America, will be honored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) with a 2014 Voice Award for consumer/peer leadership.

Hendry and other leaders being honored this year will receive their awards on the evening of August 13 at an event at Royce Hall on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. (For more information on this year’s Voice Awards, go to http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/1407220209.aspx.)

SAMHSA's Voice Awards program recognizes consumer/peer leaders who share their personal stories of resilience to demonstrate that people with mental and/or substance use disorders can recover and lead meaningful lives. It also honors writers and producers who incorporate dignified, respectful, and accurate portrayals of people with behavioral health challenges into film and television productions.

“Patrick Hendry has made major contributions in improving the lives of people living with mental health and substance use conditions,” said Paul Gionfriddo, president and CEO of Mental Health America. “His exceptional skills and leadership have empowered thousands to achieve recovery. We are proud to have him on the staff of Mental Health America.”

Hendry was the recipient in 2012 of the Clifford W. Beers Award, Mental Health America’s highest honor, which is presented to a mental health consumer who best reflects the example set by Mental Health America’s founder in his or her efforts to improve conditions for and attitudes toward people living with mental health conditions. Earlier this year, he was honored by the National Council for Behavioral Health with a Reintegration Lifetime Achievement award.

Early in his career, Hendry battled serious mental illness that robbed him of his business, home, marriage, and friends and nearly destroyed his life. He became an advocate and an educator helping others overcome the challenges of poverty, loneliness, exclusion and isolation imposed by mental illness. In 1992, he co-founded the first peer-run organization in Florida to contract directly with the state for the provision of services. Since that time, he has assisted with the development of numerous peer-run programs to help people with mental illness recover through reintegration into the community.

He is also the editor of the book “Common Threads, Stories of Survival and Recovery from Mental Illness” and the producer of a documentary, “From Asylums to Recovery: The History of the Battle of Civil and Human Rights for People in the Mental Health Care System.”

Hendry has also devoted his time and talent to the national memorial at Saint Elizabeths for psychiatric patients buried at state hospitals nationwide. He has given of his time voluntarily to present the memorial plan at national mental health conferences, work with city officials on the details of the project and help develop a sustainable fundraising plan.

Mental Health America is a program partner of the Voice Awards.

Mental Health America (www.mentalhealthamerica.net) is the nation’s largest and oldest community-based network dedicated to helping all Americans achieve wellness by living mentally healthier lives. With our 228 affiliates across the country, we touch the lives of millions—Advocating for changes in mental health and wellness policy; Educating the public & providing critical information; and delivering urgently needed mental health and wellness Programs and Services.

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