10th Annual Community Mental Health Conference
On Saturday, November 19, 2011, The Mental Health Association in Delaware sponsored the tenth annual Community Mental Health Conference, formerly known as the People of Color Mental Health Conference. The conference took place at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Wilmington, and focused on the theme “Communities Coming Together, Unite through Mind, Body and Spirit.”
The conference began with opening remarks by Mayor James Baker of the City of Wilmington. A keynote panel discussion followed moderated by Dr. Marc Richman, Assistant Director for Community Mental Health and Addiction Services at the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, featuring family members living, uniting, and coping with the challenges of ADHD.
The conference hosted 25 exhibiters, including local businesses and nonprofits, and included a continental breakfast, a hot lunch, entertainment, and a raffle prize drawing. Workshops included topics such as ADHD and college; suicide intervention; depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia; re-entry; preventing trauma in children, adolescents and young adults; and engaging fathers for safe and stable families. The conference also provided 2 workshops entirely in Spanish and a workshop called “Healing the Village” presented by the keynote speaker.
The highlight of the conference was keynote speaker, Dr. Bertice Berry, who is a native of Wilmington, Delaware. Dr. Berry is a sociologist, educator, author, lecturer, entertainer and comedian, who has also appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, and more recently ABC’s “20/20”. She is also the best-selling author of an inspirational memoir, I'm On My Way, But Your Foot Is On My Head. She spoke about the importance of uniting and understanding how the mind, body, and spirit all work together.
With over 200 people in attendance, the conference was an excellent forum for sharing resources and increasing understanding of mental health issues in Delaware. Sponsors of this important event included Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA), Delaware Physicians Care, Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, Division of Prevention and Behavioral Health Services, the Wilmington chapter of The Links, Inc., Delaware Department of Labor (funded by the Target Youth Employment Grant), United Healthcare, and SODAT Delaware, Inc.
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