The New York State Office of Mental Health today announced that a total of $100,000 has been awarded to community-based projects aimed at reducing the stigma often associated with mental illness. Funded through voluntary contributions made by taxpayers when filing their returns, the Mental Illness Anti-Stigma Fund tax check-off program provided $20,000 in one-time grants to support five projects spearheaded by community-based organizations located in each region of the state.

“The tax check-off program provides critical funding for educational initiatives and other projects to help New Yorkers recognize the importance of mental wellbeing and reduce the stigma around mental illness.” Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said. “Funded through generous contributions from taxpayers, this program is helping to break down barriers that often prevent people from seeking the help they need to address their mental health concerns.”

To be eligible for the funding, organizations needed to have at least one year of experience serving individuals with mental illness and be recognized for their work serving underserved, under-represented, or minority populations. Award recipients this year include:

• SUNY Upstate Medical Center will provide community outreach and training in Mental Health First Aid to increase awareness of mental health conditions in residents of 10 Syracuse public housing complexes to correct misconceptions about mental illness and promote mental health resources through the ‘It Matters’ program.
• FJK Dance will address the stigma of mental illness and burnout among the healthcare workforce at three large hospitals in Brooklyn and Manhattan where the artist-in-residence will use dance workshops, site-specific performance installations, spontaneous dance “flashmobs”, interactive painting, movement, and meditation classes.
• RUSA will expand cognitive therapy groups with bi-lingual licensed mental health therapists and address self-stigma and isolation in an underserved population of LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in Nassau County, Long Island and Queens.
• Harmonia will work with Native American youth of the Seneca Nation living in rural areas of Western New York to tailoring public health messaging and short videos for social media aimed at reducing mental health stigma and increasing access to supports using youth voices. Social media content will be shared and discussed in a large Community Conversation event.
• Family Services without Limits will develop digital and printed media to distribute at educational institutions in the Hudson Vally –including middle and high schools, Vassar College, Marist College, Dutchess Community College, Ulster Community College, and SUNY New Paltz – that will inform students of available resources, normalize mental health challenges, help them develop a mental health vocabulary, and support healthy use of social media.

Established in 2016, the Mental Illness Anti-Stigma Fund has since distributed more than $470,000 through the tax check-off program. The funding may be used for targeted health messaging and advertising; producing printed educational materials; guest speakers; training; sharing the human experience of mental health struggles; and multimedia productions.

To be considered for funding, proposals needed to have one or more anti-stigma elements. These elements include a focus on dispelling myths and misconceptions around mental health conditions at educational settings, such as schools; being contact-based and incorporating individuals with mental health diagnoses sharing recovery stories; or being directed at underserved populations and communities.

Other activities encouraged in proposals are those aimed at reducing stigma and discrimination among housing-related audiences, such as landlords, homeowners, building superintendents and billing/rent collection personnel; and in workplace settings; among parents with mental illness or families and caregivers of individuals with a mental health diagnosis; in the media; and in the health care system.

The tax check-off program has funded a variety of programs in the past, including roundtable discussions on mental health stigma, special issues of Behavioral Health News, and the McSilver Institute’s Special Initiatives Stigma site, Combating Mental Health Stigma. Details on these initiatives and others funded through the program can be found in its annual report.

Acting Tax Commissioner Amanda Hiller said, “We’re happy to play a part in driving more resources to projects that reduce the stigma of mental illness. The funds generated by this check-off program are going directly to programs and services that can make a real difference.”