April 15th, 2016 by WCBC Radio
Ways of reducing stigma surrounding mental illness will be explored in a variety of activities – short films, display tables, talks and personal stories — Wednesday, April 20, at Allegany College of Maryland. The public is invited. “Stomp Out Stigma,” planned by second-year students in ACM’s Human Service Associate program, is intended to raise awareness about the stigma that is attached to mental illness and addictions, which contributes to a reluctance to seek treatment.
The day-long schedule begins at 11 a.m. in the College Center with activities geared to educating the college and larger communities about mental illness and the stigma that precludes many from seeking help.
Activities include pledge and art activity booths, mental health first aid information and literature to enable political action through 2 p.m.
Speakers and short films are scheduled in the center’s Zimmer Theater, starting at 11 a.m. The student-produced video “Living With Labels: Stories of Our Community” will be followed by other film clips about mental health stigma.
A second student-produced film, “Hope for Cumberland,” concerns the work of Holly Grylls, co-founder of two substance-abuse recovery centers. It will be shown at 11:45 a.m. Grylls will speak from personal experience in “A Journey From Addiction” at noon.
Allegany County Sheriff Craig Robertson, who has become concerned about the increasing number of overdoses from heroin and other opioids, will speak at 1 p.m. in the theater.
Robertson recently hosted a series of town-hall meetings on the local heroin epidemic throughout the county with participation from county Health Department representatives.
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