A free, public forum, "A Delicate Balance: Creating a better, post-Jan. 8 system to protect the public and help the seriously mentally ill," will be held April 27 at Centennial Hall on the University of Arizona campus.
The event will include a forum with experts, followed by a Q&A session.
The Arizona Daily Star is partnering with the Schorr Family Award organization on the event in the belief that mental illness is a paramount issue in our community. Go to www.cpsa-rbha.org and click on the "Schorr Family Award" link for more information.
The event begins at 1:45 p.m. and ends at 5 p.m.. Translation services will be available upon request.
An R.S.V.P. to 784-5365 is appreciated, but not required.
Dr. Thomas R. Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, will give the keynote talk, "Trying to Understand Serious Mental Illness after January 8."
Insel is the recipient of The Schorr Family Award for Distinguished Contribution in Furthering Public Understanding of Mental Illness.
A panel of local and national experts will be led by Nicholas Breitborde, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the UA.
Panelists will be:
• Neal Cash, president & CEO, Community Partnership of Southern Arizona.
• Dr. Ken Duckworth, assistant professor, Harvard Medical School; medical director, National Alliance on Mental Illness.
• Joel Dvoskin, assistant clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the UA College of Medicine.
• Laurie Flynn, executive director, TeenScreen National Center, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center.
• John Pedicone, superintendent, Tucson Unified School District.
• H. Clarke Romans, executive director, National Alliance on Mental Illness of Southern Arizona.
After the panel discussion, participants will answer questions from the public.
Ron Barber, district director for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, will speak after the Q&A. He was seriously injured in the Jan. 8 attack.
After the forum there will be a public reception at the Women's Plaza of Honor, directly west of Centennial Hall.
ASK A QUESTION
Panelists will take written questions from the audience.
You can also submit a question in advance by emailing it to mentalhealth@azstarnet.com before Friday, April 22.
Moderator Nicholas Breitborde will pose a mix of questions that come in during the event and those sent in advance. If there are too many questions to pose at the forum, we plan to continue to answer them in the Star and on our website, azstarnet.com
resource guide
To find a list of resources, definitions and information about how to help someone with a serious mental illness, go to azstarnet.com/mentalhealthresourceguide
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