News Release

NIMH expands national outreach partnership

Grant and Award Announcement

NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

25 More Partners to Deliver Science-Based Messages Across Nation

Bethesda, MD - The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) today named 25 Outreach Partners for its Constituency Outreach and Education Program, which enlists State organizations in a nationwide partnership to help close the gap between mental health research and services. The program is a key element in a broader effort by NIMH to deliver science-based information on mental health to the public and health professionals and to increase awareness of research-based, effective treatments.

This second group of Outreach Partners for NIMH's 5-year communications initiative was chosen following a competitive process, bringing the number of Partners to 43. Additional Partners in the 8 remaining States and Puerto Rico may be named later this year or early next year.

The new Outreach Partners are:

Alaska Mental Health Association in Alaska
California California Institute for Mental Health
Connecticut NAMI Connecticut
Delaware Mental Health Association in Delaware and AMI Delaware
Illinois Mental Health Association in Illinois
Iowa Iowa Consortium for Mental Health
Kansas Mental Health Association of South Central Kansas
Maryland Mental Health Association of Maryland
Massachusetts Massachusetts Association for Mental Health
Missouri Mental Health Association of Heartland
Montanai Mental Health Association -Billings Chapter
Nebraska Father Flanagan's Boys' Home/Boys Town National Research Hospital
Nevada Salvation Army and Nevada Alliance for the Mentally Ill
New Hampshire NAMI New Hampshire
Oklahomae Mental Health Association of Tulsa
Oregon NAMI Oregon
South Carolina Mental Health Association in South Carolina
Tennessee Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee
Texas Mental Health Association in Texas
Utah NAMI Utah
Vermont Vermont Association for Mental Health
Virginia University of Virginia School of Medicine
West Virginia NAMI West Virginia
Wisconsin Mental Health Association in Milwaukee County
Wyoming Wyoming Alliance for the Mentally Ill and University of Wyoming

Each Outreach Partner conducts a mental health communications program for the public and health professionals, through media relations, statewide coalition building, and outreach to minorities and special populations such as youth and the elderly. Partners also sponsor educational efforts focusing on primary care physicians, nurses, employers, teachers and other groups and encourage participation in NIMH-supported clinical studies.

NIMH provides Outreach Partners with ongoing technical assistance in project-related activities, research updates through annual meetings, teleconferences and the Web, educational materials, opportunities to network on-line and collaborate with affiliates of diverse national organizations, and an annual stipend. Partners are invited to provide direct feedback to NIMH on its research priorities. Partners are required to submit progress reports to NIMH.

Several national organizations have a prominent role in the structure of the NIMH Constituency Outreach and Education Program. They include the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association, and the National Mental Health Association. A panel of nationally recognized mental health researchers, clinicians, and consumers provides expert assistance to the program. In addition, the program includes an Education Network of some 200 mental health, medical, education and business groups, whose State or regional affiliates may engage in coalitions with the Outreach Partners. For more information on the NIMH Constituency Outreach and Education Program, see http://www.outreach.nimh.nih.gov.

The first group of Partners, selected in March of this year, includes:
The Institute of Rural Health Studies, Idaho State University
Mental Health Association in Indiana, Inc.
Mental Health Association in Louisiana
Mental Health Association in Michigan
Mental Health Association in South Mississippi
Mental Health Association of Arizona
Mental Health Association of Broward County (Florida)
Mental Health Association of Minnesota
Mental Health Association of New York City, Inc.
Mental Health Association of Northern Kentucky
Mental Health Association of Rhode Island
Mental Health Association of the District of Columbia
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill-Maine
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Ohio
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Pennsylvania
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Washington
National Mental Health Association of Georgia
North Carolina Depressive and Manic Depressive Association

The National Institute of Mental Health is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Federal Government's primary agency for biomedical and behavioral research. NIH is a component of the Department of Health and Human Services.

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