Stomping Out Stigma
By: Amy Cavalier, Communications/Development Coordinator
May is Mental Health Month and this year’s theme focuses on Life with a Mental Illness.
DePaul staff and clients participated in several area events aimed at stomping out the stigma surrounding mental health and mental illness.
NAMI Rochester Walk
Nearly 50 DePaul staff and residents participated in the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Walk in Rochester, New York in early-May. The DePaul Stigma Stompers, including staff and residents from DePaul’s Neighborhood of the Arts (NOTA) Apartments, and the DePaul Recreation team, including staff and clients from Administration, Ridgeview Commons and the Carriage Factory Treatment Apartments, Elmgrove and Lyell Road Community Residences, and Cornerstone, Edgerton Square and Parkside Single Room Occupancy Programs, raised about $1,000 in support of people with psychiatric disorders and raised awareness to help change the way Americans view mental illness. NAMIWalks Rochester raised over $200,000 with this year’s walk on May 7!
Pictured here, NOTA resident Danita F. prepares to throw a pie in Program Director Deb White’s face during a NAMI Walk fundraiser as NOTA Assistant Residential Manager Samantha MacDonald, resident Karen S., Medication Coordinator I Gabe Cordova, Residential Counselor II Ellen Sadler and Residential Manager Chris Nutting cheer her on.
Pictured here is NOTA’s team at the NAMIWalks Rochester event including (back row, left to right) residents Chris H. and Mary N., Residential Counselor II Ellen Sadler, (middle row) Jessica L. (Carriage Factory), Lisa W. (family member), Residential Counselor II Brianna Festa, Meagan Licata, and Megan Thull, and residents Kerri D., (front row, left to right) Heather M., Debra O., Assistant Residential Manager Samantha McDonald and residents Ed M. and Michael D.
Flash Mob Aims to End the Stigma
Staff and clients from Seneca Square and Kensington Square, two DePaul Single Room Occupancy Programs in Buffalo, New York participated in the Restoration Society’s 4th Annual Flash Mob in May. The event aims to increase the public’s knowledge and understanding of mental illness and helps break the stigma surrounding it.
Pictured here are (front row, left to right) Seneca Square Residential Service Coordinators Michelle Setlock and Emily Rivera, Seneca Square Program Director Heidi Augustyn, (middle row, left to right) Kensington Square resident Carey B., Community Living Supervisor Shirley Barnes., Kensington Square resident Jeff S., Seneca Square resident James C., Kensington Square resident Analee M., (back row left to right) Kensington Square Assistant Director Robert Potozniak, Erie County Commissioner of Mental Health Michael R. Ranney, and Seneca Square residents Eric F., Dennis D., Donald M. and Clinton H.
If you post about Mental Health Month on social media, use the hashtag #mentalillnessfeelslike on social media during May. Everything will be collected at http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/feelslike.