DBSA e-Update August 2007: You're Cordially Invited

Congressman Kennedy to Receive "Rebecca's Dream Legacy of Life" Award

Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.), a national mental health leader and one of the  champions of mental health parity on Capitol Hill, will be honored this fall in Chicago with the 2007 “Rebecca's Dream Legacy of Life” Award. Together with DBSA, the Rebecca Lynn Cutler Legacy of Life Foundation will present the award to Congressman Kennedy at the 2nd Annual Rebecca’s Dream Gala on Saturday, November 3, at Chicago’s Cultural Center.

The “Rebecca's Dream Legacy of Life” Award honors someone who, in the public arena, actively speaks out about bipolar disorder and his or her own experience of it, in order to educate, raise awareness and eliminate stigma. As someone living with bipolar disorder, Congressman Kennedy has drawn on his personal experience, and his position as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, to do just that: educate, raise awareness and eliminate stigma. Most recently, he has helped to lead the fight in the House to pass mental health parity. He has worked tirelessly with Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and others to bring about parity and end health insurance discrimination through the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act.

Congressman Kennedy will be the second recipient of this award, following last year’s inaugural honoree, Patty Duke, the Academy- and Emmy-Award winning actress. The Cutler Foundation was established in 2005 by the family of Chicago journalist Rebecca Cutler, to promote awareness and compassionate understanding of depression and bipolar disorder as real diseases.