Town Meeting

Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) has been selected to receive funding through the Governor's Mental Health Transformation grant for its latest Connecting Our Communities (COC) initiative. The initiative, titled Opening Doors, Opening Minds started with a live, one-hour town meeting, which will be followed by a three-part documentary series and an extensive multimedia educational awareness campaign. Opening Doors, Opening Minds will examine why mental health is essential to overall health, that recovery from mental illness is possible, and that removing stigma associated with mental illness can lead to the understanding and acceptance that most forms of mental illness are similar to physical illnesses and can be helped with proper treatment and support.

The initiative launched with Opening Doors, Opening Minds: A Town Meeting on Mental Health that aired on June 26th. Panelists included Pat Rehmer, Deputy Commissioner Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and Project Director for the Mental Health Transformation and Ezra Griffith, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine. Consumers, family and youth representatives will round out the panel which will answer questions from an in-studio audience, telephone callers and viewer e-mail.

"Stigma associated with mental illness and addiction causes major problems for people affected by these conditions and acts as a barrier to those who need treatment, " said Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Commissioner Thomas A. Kirk. "The only way to take down these barriers is to ensure a life in the community for everyone." The results of such a transformed system will be enhanced health and well being of the state's citizens and an expanded and strengthened workforce.

Opening Doors, Opening Minds: A Town Meeting on Mental Health is a CPTV Connecting our Communities Initiative, made possible by The Governor's Mental Health Transformation grant, funded by SAMHSA (SAM-sa). For more information on mental health and Connecticut mental health services and resources, visit ct.networkofcare.org