6th Central Texas African American Family
Support Conference
2006 CTAAFSC Awards: Garnet F.
Coleman Eternal Flame Award
Richard E. Hopkins Torch Awards
The Sixth Central Texas African American Family Support Conference
(CTAAFSC), hosted by Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation
Center, (ATCMHMR) was held in Austin, Texas on February 10 and 11,
2006. This year’s events, with the theme, “Celebrating
Healthy Families: Mind, Body & Soul,” was attended by
more than 480 individuals. Dr. King Davis, Executive Director of
the Hogg Foundation for Mental Illness, indicated that while five
states have had similar conferences, none except Texas and Ohio
have continued their initiatives longer than three years. The CTAAFSC,
however, is the only conference of its type to continue more than
five years.
The conference, sponsored by ATCMHMR and community partners, included
forty-seven individual consumers, ministers, doctors and mental
health professionals conducting three plenary sessions and 16 breakout
sessions, and twenty-seven exhibitors distributing information about
their organizations to CTAAFSC attendees.
Those attending the conference were treated to two luncheons. Friday’s
Award Luncheon included presentation of the 2006 Garnet F. Coleman
Eternal Flame Award to The Honorable Wilhelmina Delco, co-chair
of The Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force and the first African
American woman to hold the position of Speaker Pro Tempore in the
Texas House. She was selected because she demonstrated fortitude
and tenacity in addressing mental health and other health related
needs on the local, state and national level. Additionally, the
Richard E. Hopkins Torch Awards were established and awarded in
four categories to individuals who significantly improved the lives
of persons affected by mental health or other Central Texas health-related
issues. The categories and awardees include Sam Higgins, consumer;
Brenda Coleman-Beattie, family member; Rev. Michael Manor, community
leader; and Dr. Mary Lou Adams, professional. Saturday’s luncheon
featured Bebe Moore Campbell, author of three New York Times bestsellers
and winner of the NAACP Image Award for Literature. Ms. Campbell
talked about her experiences dealing with mental illness in her
own family. She also discussed her current bestselling novel, 72
Hour Hold. Seventy-Two Hour Hold is the story of a woman whose daughter
develops a mental illness and the journey their lives take as a
result. Campbell's life experience clearly informed the story, and
gave her presentation authenticity.
Many thanks to conference sponsors: Austin Travis County Mental
Health Mental Retardation Center; the City of Austin; Travis County;
The New Milestones Foundation; The National Alliance on Mental Illness-Texas;
The Austin Police Department; Texas Department of State Health Services;
Advocacy, Incorporated; The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health; and
KAZI-FM 88.7.
Click to view: 2006
CTAAFSC Photos
Click to view: 2006 Conference
Proceedings
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