The annual Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (MFP) Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award recognizes a worthy piece published in a major newspaper that accomplishes one or more of the following:

• Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family member, or simply in the community.
• Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental illness.
• Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.
• A local author and/or newspaper is preferred.

The award carries a $500 prize.

To nominate a piece to be considered for the 2020 award, email it to mfp@mdpsych.org no later than January 15, 2020.  The article should be published during the period from January 15, 2019 to January 15, 2020.

Previous winners include Damion Cooper, Th.M. who penned “Surviving a gunshot, one man’s story,” which was published October 18, 2018 in the Baltimore Sun, W. Daniel Hale, Ph.D., who wrote “We need to talk about depression,” published June 13, 2016 in the Baltimore Sun, John Lion, M.D. whose piece, “Steadfast talking is the only cure for suicide,” published December 18, 2016 in the Baltimore Sun, and Amy Marlow, whose article, “My dad killed himself when I was 13. He hid his depression. I won’t hide mine,” was published February 9, 2016 in the Washington Post.

For more details about the award, please click here.  The MFP is organized for educational and charitable purposes.  For more information, please visit the MFP website.