Mental Health Association of Essex County, New Jersey, Honored

National Mental Health Association
Wednesday, 28 May 2003

The National Mental Health Association will recognize the Mental Health Association of Essex County, Inc., with the Betty Humphrey Cultural Competency Award for development and implementation of the Haitian-American Mental Health Outreach Program. The MHA of Essex County, Inc., will receive the award on June 4 at its annual conference in Washington, D.C.

"By providing culturally appropriate resources and services to families and people with mental illness in the Haitian-American community, the MHA of Essex County has truly increased awareness of available community-based mental health services for that specific population," said Michael Faenza, president and CEO of NMHA. "In a time of drastic budget cuts, this is a fine example of how an effective, low-cost program can provide access to care for a community with a distinct cultural history."

Designed to promote mental health awareness and culturally competent resources and services to the local Haitian-American community, the Haitian-American Mental Health Outreach Program has increased the number of Haitian-Americans served from 30 in 2000 to 134 in 2002. This increase is a result of not only addressing perceptions and misperceptions of mental illness and mental health services in the Haitian-American community, but by supporting and educating providers on cultural factors that affect the delivery of mental health services, hiring multicultural and multilingual staff, and lowering economic barriers to care through education of benefits, entitlements and other private and public programs.

NMHA's Betty Humphrey "Cultural Competency" Award is given to a Mental Health Association for outstanding achievement in the creation of a culturally competent services program that addresses racial, ethnic and cultural disparities in the mental health and substance abuse system. The award is given in honor of Dr. Betty Humphrey, a tireless advocate for culturally competent care on the local and national levels.

The award will be presented on Wednesday, June 4, at NMHA's annual conference, "America's Mental Health Crisis: Finding Solutions Together," in Washington, D.C. at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill.

The National Mental Health Association is America's oldest and largest nonprofit organization addressing all aspects of mental health and mental illness. With more than 340 affiliates nationwide, NMHA works to improve the mental health of all Americans through advocacy, education, research and service.

For more information, or to contact National Mental Health Association, see their website at: www.nmha.org