Strengthening Community, Partnership Profiles

The residents of the Lower Columbia-Pacific Region, located on the northwest coast of Oregon and the southwest coast of Washington, were hit hard by an economic recession that followed on the heels of the region's decade-long transition from economic dependence on logging and fishing to lower paying jobs in the travel and tourism. The primary goal of the project was to provide the affected communities with information and resources to better meet their physical, mental and behavioral health care needs, and to inform policy makers about the lack of access to and delivery of health care services in this region.

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Incremental loss of culture, language, and lifestyle choices have exacted a heavy toll on the mental health of Alaska's Arctic North Slope residents. In order to empower and educate their community about mental health issues, KBRW and the Barrow Chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) launched Building Healthy Communities. KBRW broadcast PSAs and talk shows about treatment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illnesses. The local NAMI chapter held four mental health workshops emphasizing native and community values.

In an area seriously affected by a three-year drought, an '02 wildfire, low wages, and rocketing real estate prices, many citizens struggle with unmet health care needs. KSUT and the San Juan Health Department's Healthy Dialogs program addressed mental health issues, substance abuse, and diabetes treatment through call-in programs, features, and a Web site.

Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ-FM) and Casa Central teamed up to raise awareness of the mental health issues facing the Latino community, within both the community itself and the broader Chicago area. Between Two Worlds included reports, documentaries, and youth theater performances to highlight the dramatic changes basic mental health access can make in a person's life.

KDNA-FM and the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic launched a mental health education campaign to help Spanish-speaking farmworkers, warehouse workers, and other immigrants who face economic and social hurdles. Mejorando La Calidad de Vida (Improving the Quality of Life) used call-in programs to educate and direct some callers to counseling services. The partners also produced and distributed helpful "foto-brochures" and collaborated with other local organizations to reach their community.

The goals of Who Cares? were to stamp out the stigma associated with mental illness and to help local peer counselors achieve their goal of opening a drop-in self-help center. The Spirit Center is now open and KVMR-FM, FREED, and mental health peer counselors continue to produce a weekly call-in radio program that is now videoed for replay twice a week on community access television.