Bring Change 2 Mind by kbritt
I was just forwarded a July 31, 2011 press release about the Extreme Home Makeover: Home Edition build that is going on this week in Ottawa, Kansas. I've read about some it here, and have a friend who is a designer that is volunteering with the team this week, but I had not heard about the connection with the Bring Change 2 Mind organization.
"Oscar-winning actress Glenn Close personally nominated the Hill family for an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition episode. She founded a non-profit organization, Bring Change 2 Mind, when her sister was struggling with bipolar disorder. The foundation educates and raises awareness about mental illness and offers support both financially and emotionally for families suffering from mental illness, including PTSD."
Bring Change 2 Mind was launched in October of 2009 with a public service announcement that features Glenn Close and her sister Jessie. It was directed by Ron Howard and underscored with a beautiful song by John Mayer.
Worth watching over and over again.
Best of luck to the team, contractors and volunteers working to build an entire home in seven days in this extreme Kansas weather. And congratulations to everyone that continues to build the awareness about how fundamental mental health is to each of our lives.
Tagged: mental health, Bert Nash Center, Extreme Home Makeover, bipolar disorder
Comments
Marilyn_Hull (Marilyn Hull) says…
Love, LOVE the video!
If the family I grew up in had been part of it, you would have seen nine of nine of us wearing a shirt with a diagnosis. Fortunately most of us have had mild to moderate symptoms, and have been been treated successfully.
The stigma is less than it was in my parents day, when mental health problems were kept secret. But we still have a long way to go.
hartcindy (Cindy Hart) says…
Marilyn, there are also a couple other "behind the scenes" videos like this one with Glenn and her sister that are great: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=...
Mental health challenges affect all of us - whether it's ourselves, a family member or a co-worker it touches all of our lives in one way or another.
Bring Change 2 Mind uses the statistic of "1 in 6 adults and almost 1 in 10 children suffer from a diagnosable mental illness." The National Institute of Mental Health "estimates that 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18-older - about one in four adults - suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year." Whatever the numbers are - it's a lot. And all the more reason to continue to fight the stigma associated with it.