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African American Pavillion... Where the world gathers to get a READ on the industry, featuring Wesley Snipes, Tom Joyner, George Fraser, Tony Dungy, Terrie Williams and more...

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Thursday, April 30, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm: Conversations with Community Leaders "Healing Starts With Us - A Mental Health Initiative"

Williams and Carter will share their personal stories to inspire the famous and the ordinary to speak out about mental health issues, and encourage Brooklyn community leaders to work together to increase the community's access to mental health services. For more information, contact Cheryl Todmann, Director of Community Relations, at 718.310.5761 or ctodmann@bbcs.org. To RSVP, contact Adele Saleem at 718.310.5623 or asaleem@bbcs.org.

Saturday, 4 April 2009, 12 noon - 2 pm

"Sharing Ourselves...Healing Starts With Us" -- An upfront and personal look at what depression looks like, sounds like and feels like in our communities across the country -- from the voices of people you know. Moderated by Terrie M. Williams, Mental Health Advocate and author of Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We're Not Hurting.

Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers
811 7th Avenue @ 53rd Street
New York, NY 10019
212.581.1000

Wednesday 25 March 2009, 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

In an effort to promote mental wellness in the community, Council Member Patricia McDow is hosting a screening of the Healing Starts With Us: “The Open Book”  documentary on Wednesday, 25 March 2009, at Yonkers Public Library-Riverfront Branch, located at 1 Larkin Center, from 5:30–7:30 pm. Autographed copies of the ground-breaking book, Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We’re Not Hurting by Terrie M. Williams will be for sale. The event is open to the public in honor of Women’s History Month. 

Healing Starts With Us (HSWU) “The Open Book” explores the symptoms of depression, its impact on Black American lifestyles and encourages dialogue to break the silence of and destigmatize the illness in the Black community. Narrated by political and social activist Jeff Johnson, poignant remarks and appearances from other notables include: Mo’Nique, Ruby Dee, John Amos, Susan L. Taylor, Geoffrey Canada, Felicia “Snoop” Pearson, Jamie Hector, Cake Man Raven, Terry McMillan, and The Rev. Al Sharpton.

The screening is followed by a transformative open discussion led by Terrie Williams who shares her personal debilitating battle with depression. Terrie illuminates the signs and symptoms to recognize depression. This approach creates a unique interactive environment that allows individuals to share their personal stories of despair—whether or not they were ever diagnosed with depression. The outpouring of pent up emotions promotes an unexpected sense of kinship and relief about not being alone, placing individuals at the threshold of the healing process. 

An initiative of The Stay Strong Foundation, Healing Starts With Us is an immensely courageous and compelling campaign that addresses the pervasiveness of clinical depression in the Black American community and promotes mental wellness. The campaign teaches what depression looks, sounds and feels like, and offers a referral service to encourage and connect those ready to start the healing process with mental health professionals and facilities. HSWU is a guiding light through a tunnel of learned silence (about emotional distress) that dates back to slavery. One of its goals is to reach and teach 1 million people about its services through online pledging at Healing Starts With Us.net.

“When I attended the premier of “The Open Book” on Broadway on January 15^th, I immediately identified the value of it being shown in Yonkers, so I pledged,” says Councilmember Patricia McDow. So many people in pain, walking around like time bombs. It was a group therapy experience that I never witnessed before.  The added touch of having mental health therapists on hand was outstanding and completes the cycle.” 

Terrie Williams is a consummate mentor, even through her personal pain. She and business partner, Xavier Artis, launched the HSWU Campaign in March 2008 on the heels of the release of her book, Black Pain. The book identifies emotional pain—which uniquely and profoundly affects the Black experience—as the root of lashing out through desperate acts of crime, violence, drug and alcohol abuse, eating and shopping, gambling, and sex. Few realize these destructive acts are symptoms of our inner sorrow. 

"Depression" is a catchword in the mainstream media, but among Black Americans, it might as well be “the D-word”—the shameful thing nobody talks about, even as it’s killing them. But Terrie is not afraid to talk about what depression is doing to the Black community— she’s determined to get everyone talking about it, and she will not rest until people can freely speak their pain without shame, and start healing. 

HSWU has become a clarion call across the nation that says, “Yes we can” end the stigma of depression in our community; that we don't have to repeat and relive the painful history of our past.  We are nothing without our emotional and mental wellness. “Depression is not a crime, it’s an illness,” says Williams. 

As a result of its highly effective initiative, The Stay Strong Foundation recently formed a collaboration with The Ad Council—creators of the UNCF memorable campaign, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste”—and the Substance and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The theme of the joint campaign is “Share Oursevles…Healing Starts With Us.”  

 

 

New York, NY – March 28, 2008 – Today the “Healing Starts With Us” national campaign in conjunction with The Dixon Group Inc., launches the website Healingstartswithus.net to create a grassroots online network that will mobilize and promote the campaign’s goal to reach 1 million pledges by Independence Day, July 4, 2008.

The campaign’s website comes after an overflowing crowd of community, civic, social, political leaders and entertainers including Academy Award® nominee Ruby Dee, John Amos, Mo’Nique, Terry McMillan, HBO’s The Wire co-stars Jamie Hector and Felicia “Snoop” Pearson and Rev. Al Sharpton united on March 18, 2008 for the launch of the “Healing Starts With Us” campaign, moderated by Susan L. Taylor and Geoffrey Canada. More than 700 attendees gathered at the historic Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial & Educational Center (formerly known as The Audubon Ballroom) to listen as celebrity guests read excerpts from Terrie M. Williams’ latest book, BLACK PAIN: It Just Looks Like We’re Not Hurting. Following the dramatic readings, in what has become the campaign’s trademark, Williams engaged the audience in an “Open Book healing Q&A” discussion – which lead to an outpouring of audience members sharing moving testimonials that dealt with rape, death, and other traumas – including Terry McMillan, Felicia “Snoop” Pearson who shared incredibly touching stories of their own trials. Mo’Nique brought the evening full circle by sharing publicly for the first time her battle with depression, and credited her husband Sidney who recognized and suggested her need for therapy.  Said Mo’Nique, “I thought depression was a white woman’s disease; my sistahs and brothas, I’m here to tell you that it does not discriminate.”

 
The historic launch marked an important day in the history of the community, recognizing the opportunity to raise awareness and voices about issues facing men and women at every age and stage of life.  Echoing the words of Malcolm X, Academy Award® nominee and beloved matriarch, Ruby Dee told the attendees that, “We must take back our community and its well being…By Any Means Necessary.”

 
 “We want to encourage 1 million people to commit in support of our mission, to provide a support network that encourages open dialogue about emotional distress”, said Xavier Artis, creative philanthropist and campaign creator. “With this campaign we can take back our independence and begin the process of healing individually and collectively, as a community. It is through the power of one that we will reach and exceed our goal of 1 million pledges on Independence Day.”

 
Growing support of the campaign to reach its 1 million pledges include several national corporations, non-profits, and community businesses that have joined forces to create the ‘Healing Starts With Us’ Committee of Sponsors including: The Dixon Group, Inc.; Forest City Ratner Companies; Macy’s; Coca-Cola; The River Room; Columbia University Office of Government and Community Affairs; The Jonathan M. Tisch Foundation; The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial & Educational Center; The Loreen Arbus Foundation; Moet Hennessy USA; The Middleton Law Group; Shabazz Fish & Grill; The Terrie Williams Agency; Bad Boy Entertainment Worldwide; The Artis Connection; Planet Hollywood; BET; National Cares Mentoring Movement; Alpha International Travel; Sean John; and Blue World Travel; Hue-Man Bookstore & Café; The Shark Bar; Raven the Cakeman and Citrus Restaurant.

 
“We are proud of the partnership’s we are establishing with businesses and individuals. This movement plays a significant role in helping our community move further down a path of hope and healing, while also providing them with a nurturing environment,” added Williams. “With the website, we have the ability to use digital media to offer more opportunities for the community to embrace our, ‘open book’ dialogue with others, sign-up and pledge their support for the campaign as we tour the nation spreading the message that ‘Healing Starts With Us.’"

 

~ MSNBC online covers March 18, 2008 launch of The Stay Strong Foundation's 'Healing Starts With Us' National campaign.

MSNBC.com

~ Red Carpet takes over Uptown with Entertainment Tonight/The Insider's live coverage of Mo'nique at the launch of The Stay Strong Foundation's 'Healing Starts With Us' national campaign:

Entertainment Tonight

~ ESSENCE.COM Features Terrie Williams and The Stay Strong Foundation kick off the "Healing Starts With Us" national campaign with celebrities supporting the cause.

ESSENCE.com

~ Media Hits from March 18, 2008 Campaign launch at The Shabazz Center in New York City:

blackgivesback.blogspot.com

harlemworldblog.wordpress.com

KRNV News

www.wireimage.com

www.thequestforit.com

www.stereohyped.com

www.gettyimages.com

www.blackvoices.com

sandrarose.com

Dear Friend,

The response to The Stay Strong: “Healing Starts With Us” campaign launch, at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Educational Center on Tuesday, March 18th was truly overwhelming.   Thank you for coming out to learn about the mental health crisis in our community—and congratulations to all of you who came to learn what to do about it.  You are to be commended for honoring yourself. 

We are also extremely grateful to the esteemed moderators Susan L. Taylor and Geoffrey Canada and our celebrity friends: Ruby Dee, John Amos, Mo’Nique, Terry McMillan, Jamie Hector, and Felicia “Snoop” Pearson.  Each of them made time in their busy schedules to participate with us, to help bring awareness to the topic of depression and how it is linked to the high rate of violence on our streets and in our homes; to child abuse, rape, suicide as well as other heinous acts committed in urban communities around the nation.  We extended to them a call to action and they answered, because they are equally concerned about how many of us are hurting ourselves and killing one other.

The Stay Strong Foundation’s, “Healing Starts With Us” event was offered as a free community event and we wanted our guests to have a copy of “Black Pain,” to learn more about depression from the book in the days to follow.  However, due to the large turnout, it became impossible for us to seat some of our guests upstairs, as originally planned.  As a result, some of you who purchased the book have expressed your disappointment.  We had monitors set up in the downstairs lobby and the vast majority of guests were content.  Still we honor the fact that your expectation was different.

We stand behind our belief that it’s important for you to have a copy of Black Pain that can be used as a personal resource tool.  In the spirit of our message that “the healing starts with us,” we will refund your money to you and you may also keep the book as our gift.  Our hope is, that it serves to help you as it has thousands of others so far, or that you identify someone in need of healing and pass it on to them.

The refund offer was made at the event on Tuesday and Hue-Man Bookstore began the process the following day.  The deadline to receive a refund is Thursday, March 20th, from the Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe, located at 2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd., between the hours of 10:00 am and 8:00 pm. 

Again, we thank all of you for coming.  Let’s focus on the daunting task at hand, roll up our sleeves and do this important life transforming work. All of us at The Stay Strong Foundation and Hue-Man Bookstore look forward to building this healing movement together with you.  To repeat the words of Malcolm X, which were delivered at the end of our program by beloved matriarch, the incomparable Ruby Dee, “we must take back our community and it’s well being…by any means necessary!

Stay Strong,

Terrie M. Williams      Xavier Artis
Co- Founder              Co-Founder

Welcome to the Stay Strong Foundation's "Healing Starts With Us" Press Room. We invite you to explore our press room for press releases, recent media coverage, bios, fact sheets, upcoming events and to find details about the campaign's goal to reach One Million pledges in support of the movement and encourage an open dialogue within the community. Thank you for joining us as we help millions help themselves. Here you can download our press release, media advisory and credential form for the March 18, 2008 Campaign National Launch event at The Shabazz Center in New York. For press inquiries, or to join our press list, please contact LaVenia LaVelle or Shanique Bonelli at PR@healingstartswithus.net

Thank you for visiting the Stay Strong Foundation’s Healing Starts With Us Campaign community site. We hope that you will join this community, actively participate and come back often for updates.

Please donate your $1 pledge by clicking the button at the top of the page and don’t forget to invite 3 others to sign up to support our One Million Pledges!

Stay Strong!