Hope on the Street

San Francisco, CA, 2002

KQED Public TV and the Mental Health Education and Workforce Development Initiative (MHEWDI) at San Francisco State University, College of Extended Learning worked together to improve the quality of care for the San Francisco Bay Area's mentally ill homeless population. Stigma, shame and discrimination prevent an estimated 80 percent of mentally ill individuals from seeking treatment. Frontline mental health care workers, especially primary care physicians and educators, need to understand how these factors prevent individuals from seeking help. KQED produced and aired Hope on the Street (Hope), a one-hour documentary on mental illness and homelessness. The documentary tells stories of individual achievements and challenges and illuminates the complexities of providing quality care and working toward recovery. Issues included medication, family support, employment and affordable housing.

MHEWDI advisors played a crucial role in the content and outreach development of Hope. Their expertise and experience ensured that the program is accurate and sensitively depicts the people profiled in the film, and that information presented in the film can be useful in outreach.

Community engagement activities consisted of four very well attended mental health awareness/education events, using Hope as the springboard to explore issues raised in the film. The theme of each event was tied to recovery and targeted different parts of the mental health community. KQED also created a companion website and Web-based resources, including a “Mental Health Toolkit” with concrete tips on navigating the mental health care system and a comprehensive list of organizations and resources in the Bay Area; a “Get Help” section, with recommended reading and FAQ transcript of advice from mental health experts; and a “Talk About It” section, where people in the Bay Area can share their experiences. The documentary was re-broadcast nationally in Spring 2003.

Together, KQED and MHEWDI have shown mental health consumers, professionals and the general public alike that there is hope for the mentally ill—even those living on the street, to lead stable and fulfilling lives—when given access to quality care.

Awards:

KQED Round Four

Sheraz Sadiq, Assistant Producer for Working Uninsured
— 2005 California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship to develop and research material for the project

KQED Round Three

Hope on the Street
Best Local Television for News, Educational or Public Service Programming
— National Mental Health Association 2003 Media Awards

Emmy Nomination for Best Documentary
Media Award for Community Service
— Alameda County Mental Health Board

Commendation
— San Francisco Mental Health Board

Best Documentary and Outstanding Media Award for Television Documentary
— National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

$300,000 — Eli Lilly Company

March Symposium on Mental Health
$25,000 — California Endowment
$15,000 — Zellerbach Family Foundation
$10,000 — California Wellness Foundation
$3,500 — Eli Lilly
$2,500 — United Behavioral Health
$2,000 — Johnson and Johnson
$2,000 — Telecare Corp
$1,500 — NAMI/Contra Costa

KQED Round One

California Welfare: A Community Conversation
Clarion Award for Radio Documentary, One-time, Public Radio
— Association for Women in Communications