Mental Health Association of San Francisco Sponsors Online Survey
Esteemed Nonprofit Asks San Franciscans About Perception of Mental Health & Illness
survey online
29 October 2009 – San Francisco, CA: How important is your mental health? How much do you consider it? What would you like to see mental health officials focus on – prevention, treatment or education? Questions like this are at the heart of a new survey from the Mental Health Association of San Francisco (www.mha-sf.org). With more than 60 years of service, the Mental Health Association of San Francisco (MHA-SF) is dedicated to improving the mental health of residents in the diverse communities of San Francisco through education, advocacy, research, and service. With the release of this new survey, MHA-SF hopes to reach both members of the public and mental health professionals to find out issues of importance to help shape the organization’s future work.
The survey, may be found online at http://MHA-SFSurvey2.surveyconsole.com. Results of the survey will be tabulated in early December and the results released in January 2010.
“There is still a great deal of stigma around the issue of mental health and mental illness,” says MHA-SF Executive Director Belinda Lyons. “Our hope is that this anonymous survey aimed at San Francisco residents will help fuel a dialogue in the community. In addition, the data we receive will help us plan our own prevention, treatment and education priorities in the coming years.”
In all its programs, MHA-SF works together with people and families challenged by mental illness and with the agencies that serve them to promote prevention, access to services, leadership, and independence. Central to MHA-SF’s mission throughout its history, is the belief that meaningful change can only be achieved with active participation by those challenged by mental illness and that mental health consumers must be empowered to pursue their own goals.
Recognizing that tens of thousands of San Franciscans live near or below the poverty level and that mental illness disproportionately affects people of lower income, especially those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. MHA-SF programs particularly address the needs of the underserved, and those who seek mental health services only to be barred from access.
Over the last 60 plus years, MHA-SF has continued to adapt and to serve. The organization focuses on high-impact systems change and leadership development, influencing the availability and disbursement of millions of government dollars which touch the lives of thousands.
“What will never change is our commitment to bettering the lives of those affected by mental illness and improving the health of our community,” Lyons continues. “Even today, stigma, poverty and lack of quality treatment prohibit many from obtaining effective care. We aim to increase access to mental health services by utilizing the valuable knowledge and first-hand experience of people affected by mental illness and their families.”
The symbol of the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) is the Mental Health Bell. Cast from iron chains and shackles that once restrained people in asylums, the Bell is both a powerful reminder of the harrowing care individuals endured and a sign of hope for continued progress in understanding and treatment. In the early 1950s, NMHA issued a call to asylums across the country for their discarded chains and shackles. In April of 1953 NMHA melted down these inhumane bindings at the McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, Maryland, and forged the 300-pound Mental Health Bell.
Today the Mental Health Bell tolls to end misunderstanding and discrimination and rings out hope in the fight for victory over mental illness. The Mental Health Association of San Francisco is an affiliate of the Mental Health Association in California and the National Mental Health Association. For more information, please call (415) 421-2926 or go online to www.mha-sf.org
