|
Mental Health America of Indiana: History
HistoryIn 1915, the Indiana Board of State Charities adopted a resolution requesting the Governor to appoint a committee of eight to determine "what the problem of mental defectives is in Indiana, including the epileptic, feebleminded and insane; what is being done for them here and elsewhere, and in the light of the best experience, what programs can be suggested in the state." Clifford Beers, founder of the National Mental Health Association was present for committee meetings. In 1916 at the Indiana Conference of Mental Defectives, Clifford Beers helped to organize what was originally called the State Society for Mental Hygiene. Only the third such state organization in the nation, Indiana's mental health organization would be affiliated with the National organization. The Indiana Society and the National organization set forth the following goals:
Thus began the rich history of what was to be renamed the Mental Health America of Indiana, still an affiliate of the National organization. The Mental Health Association has always been a citizens organization and is the only organization today concerned with every aspect of mental health, from the individual who has a mental illness to the family member, to the policy makers across the state, the Mental Health Association is involved. The Mental Health America of Indiana has 60 local affiliates across Indiana, the most of any Association in the Nation. The local chapters have membership of over 20,000 people from all walks of life. In the early years of the organization, the Executive Director, Joe Brown understood the value and importance of having citizens involved in the organization. With citizens involved, the strength of the Association was made stronger. In 1994, the Association board of directors made the decision to create subsidiaries, thereby allowing other organizations to take advantage of the strong administrative structure of the organization. As a result, the Mental Health America of Indiana is the parent corporation of a number of subsidiary organization. This organizational structure allows many key stakeholders to be involved in the accomplishment of the mission of the organization. In 1997, the Association board of directors voted to include addictions issues as part of the mission of the organization. In this historic move, a separate subsidiary was formed to focus on building a statewide addictions movement across Indiana. A strong voice in state government, the Association was instrumental in creating the Community Mental Health Center system in Indiana. The Association played a leadership role to obtain funding for the creation of the Indiana University Psychiatric Institute. The Association worked with all key stakeholders, leading a coalition in 1994 to pass the "Mental Health Plan", the plan for mental health services in the state. In 1999, the Association was able to pass mental health parity in insurance law so that people with mental illness can obtain insurance on parity with physical insurance and has since passed legislation that provides mental health and addictions parity in the Children's Health Insurance Program. The Mental Health America of Indiana continues to strive to fulfill the mission as guided by the founding leaders. By providing education and information to the general public about mental health and addictive disorders, the Association strives to spread understanding and awareness. By providing a strong affiliate system across the state, the Association can lend a grass roots voice to issues that confront us. By providing advocacy at the state and local levels, the Association is able to bring about policy change. And through subsidiary organizations, the Association is able to be involved in all aspects of mental health. The NMHA Bell Story"Cast from shackles which bound them, this bell
shall ring out hope for the mentally ill and victory over mental illness." During the early days of mental health treatment, asylums often restrained persons with mental illnesses by iron chains and shackles around their ankles and wrists. With better understanding and treatments, this cruel practice eventually stopped. In the early 1950s, the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) issued a call to asylums across the country for their discarded chains and shackles. On April 13, 1953, at the McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, MD, NMHA melted down these inhumane bindings and recast them into a sign of hope: the Mental Health Bell. Now the symbol of NMHA, the 300-pound Bell serves as a powerful reminder that the invisible chains of misunderstanding and discrimination continue to bind people with mental illnesses. Today, the Mental Health Bell rings out hope for improving mental health and achieving victory over mental illnesses. Over the years, national mental health leaders and other prominent individuals have rung the Bell to mark the continued progress in the fight for victory over mental illnesses. The MHAI recently acquired a replica of the NMHA Bell from the same foundry where the original was cast. We are proud to display the bell at our events as a symbol of all we stand for. When the bell is rung, it rings out hope for us all. The Bell SongTo obtain an order form to purchase the "Ring Out Hope" music video Click Here Listen to "Ring Out Hope" !
|
