Resource Organizations

Altered States of the Arts
Altered States of the Arts is a nationwide network of creative people who are current or former recipients of psychiatric services. Their purpose is to promote the arts as a vehicle for social change and personal empowerment. They promote artists, writers and performers throughout the country whose art contains a ?message? about their mental health issues that can provide insight and understanding to a wide audience of persons receiving services, mental health providers and the public at large.

The Stigma Fighter Players
Since its development in 1998 and through 2002, The Stigma Fighter Players, a drama troupe, used role-play, creative art, and structured group exercises to entertain and educate people about the discrimination and stigma persons with mental illnesses face. They performed at workshops, conferences, schools, and in the community. The Stigma Fighter Players consisted of a group of mental health consumers who had received treatment from a local therapeutic rehabilitation program. Laura Escobar
Sheri Bentley
250 Alpine Drive
Shelbyville, KY 40065
Phone: 703-633-9768

The Fountain Gallery
The Fountain Gallery is a nonprofit cooperative run by and for artists living with mental illnesses. It works to change common misconceptions about people living with mental illnesses by publicly exhibiting the works of their talented artists and by providing a safe and secure place for self-expression.

Beyond the Label
Beyond the Label is a multimedia initiative developed in October 2006 by the Education Unit of Cornerstone Clubhouse, a nonprofit agency in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Claire Mitchell-Nzerem
Sue Baldwin
Phone: 610-935-2290
E-mail: cornerstoneclubhouse@yahoo.com

One in Five: Overcoming the Stigma of Mental Illness
1 in 5: Overcoming the Stigma of Mental Illness is an educational anti-stigma activity which includes a documentary produced in 2006 by the Saginaw County Community Mental Health Authority in Michigan. The documentary, featuring mental health consumers, provides an opportunity for the general public to learn about the lives of these individuals and to learn about the misconceptions, myths, and stigma associated with mental illnesses. Mark Leffler
Saginaw County Community Mental Health Authority
500 Hancock
Saginaw, MI 48602-4224
Phone: 1-800-258-8678
E-mail: mleffler@sccmha.org

With an OPEN mind
Brook Latimer, Public Education Coordinator
St. Josephs Care Group
Phone: 807-346-5226
E-mail:LatimerB@tbh.net
With an OPEN mind is a public education program in the Thunder Bay region of Canada. It aims to reduce myths and misconceptions surrounding mental illness through the shaping of public attitudes so that people with mental illnesses have an improved sense of acceptance, purpose, and freedom in their communities.

Silver Ribbon Coalition
The Silver Ribbon Coalition was originally founded in 1993 as the Silver Ribbon Campaign for the Brain by Jean Liechty after she had a family experience with schizophrenia. In 2004, the Silver Ribbon Campaign for the Brain was renamed in order to incorporate and represent the combined interests of all individuals who have a brain disorder or disability, including those individuals with mental illnesses. The coalition emphasizes that increasing public awareness will result in improved treatments, eventual cures, and decreased stigma for those with brain disorders and disabilities.

Minds and K9s, Inc.
Minds and K9s is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) consumer run organization that provides mental health education, resources and direct service programs for professionals, businesses, organizations and individuals. They also provide resources related to service dogs and other working animals. We also provide education and resources about psychiatric illnesses and related disorders of the brain. They are also a SAMHSA Campaign for Mental Health Recovery Partner organization, working to eliminate stigma. Minds and K9s
Sharon J. Cunningham, Ex. Dir.
P.O. Box 3163
Ft. Leavenworth, KS 66027-0163
Phone: 913-250-5433

The Awakenings Project
P.O. Box 177
Wheaton, IL 60187
E-mail: info@theawakeningsproject.org
The Awakenings Project (Awakenings) is a grass-roots initiative run by and for artists with mental illnesses. Awakenings raises public awareness of the important contributions that individuals with mental illnesses make to the larger community. It also helps people with mental illnesses to develop and enhance their creativity.

American Art Therapy Association, Inc. (AATA)
The American Art Therapy Association is an organization of professionals dedicated to the belief that the creative process involved in art making is healing and life enhancing. Its mission is to serve its members and the general public by providing standards of professional competence, and developing and promoting knowledge in, and of, the field of art therapy.

National Association for Drama Therapy (NADT)
The National Association for Drama Therapy is a non-profit association established to uphold high standards of professional competence and ethics among drama therapists; to develop criteria for training and registration; to sponsor publications and conferences; and to promote the profession of drama therapy through information and advocacy.

National Association for Poetry Therapy
The National Association for Poetry Therapy is a world-wide community of poets, writers, journalkeepers, helping professionals, health care professionals, educators, and lovers of words who recognize and appreciate the healing power of language. Poetry therapists work in mental health, medical, geriatric, therapeutic, educational and community settings

National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations (NCCATA)
c/o AMTA
8455 Colesville Rd., Ste. 1000
Silver Spring MD, 20910
NCCATA is an alliance of professional associations dedicated to the advancement of the arts as therapeutic modalities. NCCATA represents over 8000 individual members of six creative arts therapies associations. The creative arts therapies include art therapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, poetry therapy, and psychodrama.

The Kids on the Block, Inc.
9385-C Gerwig Lane
Columbia, Maryland 21046
Phone: 800-368-KIDS (5437)
E-mail: kob@kotb.com
The Kids on the Block (KOB) is an educational puppet theatre company that researches, develops and performs live programs addressing a wide range of topics, including childrens mental health.

Movie Monday
Bruce Saunders
Phone: 902-595-FLIC (595-3542)
E-mail: bruces@islandnet.com
Begun in 1993 by a mental health consumer, Movie Monday is a Canadian based weekly film series offered in the auditorium of a psychiatric hospital. The series is designed for people with mental illnesses, their families, and the general public. It features a mix of films to educate people and break down the stigma of mental illness, addiction, and other subjects.