For Immediate Release
April 30, 2003

Contact: John Hutto, Director of Communications
              (w) 803-898-8584
              (p) 803-929-8668
              JHH35@CO.DMH.STATE.SC.US

May is Mental Health Month
SCDMH Focuses on Recovery with Statewide Events

Columbia, SC: Honoring the one in five South Carolinians who live with a mental illness, the South Carolina Department of Mental Health (SCDMH) joins in the national recognition of May as Mental Health Month.

Each year, May activities challenge South Carolinians to consider their views toward mental illnesses, and to respect the brave people who live with these medical disorders. The driving message this year is that recovery is real for people with mental illnesses, and that the stigma associated with these disorders must be eliminated.

Some of the activities this year include:

          May 6 – the opening of the Art of Recovery, Round 4 – exhibits of
          SCDMH consumer art at the Richland County Public Library in
          Columbia and at SCDMH Central Administration, 2414 Bull Street.
          The exhibit will run through June 4.

          May 15 – Open House at the Lexington County Community Mental
          Health Center. Tours will be offered. 8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

          May 16 – Open House for the new Greenwood Mental Health Center
          Complex, a division of the Beckman Center for Mental Health Services,
           4 – 6 p.m.

          May 21 – Consumer Day will be celebrated at the Berkeley County
          Community Mental Health Center. The center will be open for
          Consumers and their families for tours.

          Proclamations declaring May is Mental Health Month from 72
          mayors of cities and towns across the state.

The media are encouraged to cover the events included in this media kit. To arrange for mental health speakers, call (803) 898-8585.

The South Carolina Department of Mental Health provides services through a network of 17 community mental health centers, five hospitals, and two nursing care centers.