Welcome to the conversation!


Welcome to the conversation!

Harriet Beecher Stowe's (1811-1896) best-selling anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), made her the most famous American woman of the 19th century and galvanized the abolition movement before the Civil War.

The Stowe Center is a 21st-century museum and program center using Stowe's story to inspire social justice and positive change.

The Salons at Stowe programs are a forum to connect the challenging issues (race, gender and class) that impelled Stowe to write and act with the contemporary face of those same issues. The Salon format is based on a robust level of audience participation, with the explicit goal of promoting civic engagement. Recent topics included: Teaching Acceptance; Is Prison the New Slavery; Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North; Creativity and Change; Race, Gender and Politics Today; How to be an Advocate

This blog will expand the reach of these community conversations to the online audience. Add your posts and comments to keep the conversation going! Commit to action by clicking HERE to stay up to date on Salon and social justice news.

For updates on Stowe Center programs and events, sign up for our enews at http://harrietbeecherstowe.org/email.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Event Recap: Mental Health (5.16.13 Salon)


Salons at Stowe
May 16, 2013
How prevalent is mental illness in our community? Is mental health treatment accessible to all? How can we support individuals and families struggling with mental health issues?


FEATURED GUESTS:
Sara Frankel, J.D., National Alliance on Mental Illness

Harold L. Schwartz, M.D., Hartford Hospital Institute of Living


Inspiration to Action:
  • Consider your language: don't label someone as "psychotic," but recognize the individual living with the illness.
  • Join the NAMI Walk in 2014 and Stomp Out Stigma.
  • Work to get mental health awareness curriculum in schools.
  • Teach empathy.
  • Encourage early intervention.
  • Work to ensure follow through on screening diagnosis.
  • provide support for military returning from service.
  • Speak out against violence.
  • Work to bring a public face to mental illness - individuals living with mental illness can demonstrate positive experiences.
  • Provide access to services - make it easier to get treatment.
  • Advocate for a mental health system that actually works.
  • Emphasize the collective cost of stigmatization.
  • If you have a management position or are in a position of authority, give someone a chance.
  • Keep the discussion going.
  • Define mental illness within the context of cultural norms.
  • Help someone that doesn't have a support system.
  • Educate yourself on issues, tell your legislators to do better.
  • Practice empathy.
 
Explore the links featured on our Takeaway Sheet for more information and ways you can take action!

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