Since our humble beginnings in mid 1950s, our organization has grown dramatically, expanding in size, mission and scope, all while establishing a proud history of advocating for persons who have a mental illness and persons who have mental retardation.
The roots of our organization date back to 1909 when Clifford Beers, an ex-mental health patient and author of "A Mind that Found Itself", founded the Committee for Mental Hygiene. In 1950, the committee merged with two other organizations, the Mental Health Foundation and the Psychiatric Foundation, to form the Mental Health Association.
Our organization was founded in 1955 as the Lackawanna County Mental Health Association. On October 21, 1955, it elected its first officers ─ Mrs. Mortimer B. Fuller, Jr., President; Hamilton Winslow, Vice President; Leroy Craig, Treasurer; and Dorothy Fear, Secretary. The organization was officially incorporated a decade later.
The organization's early leadership was composed primarily of clergy, socially conscious philanthropists and health care professionals. Later Boards of Directors have included leaders from virtually every sector of the community.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the Association laid the groundwork for many of the essential functions that formed its enduring foundation ─ advocacy, education and raising public awareness.
Within months of its first meeting, the group performed its first official act of advocacy, publicly backing Pennsylvania Governor George M. Leader's attempt to get adequate funding for the state's Department of Welfare.
"As you realize," the Association wrote in a letter, "the present unhappy status of mental health in Pennsylvania can be improved only by allocating more money to this cause and by getting more qualified personnel to direct and serve our mental institutions."
A few months later, the Association launched its initiative to raise public awareness of mental illness by organizing the first local observance of Mental Health Week. In the decades that followed, the organization recruited renowned experts, state and national mental health officials, and celebrities to speak about mental illness and issues such as advocacy, community involvement, public policy and new treatments.
They included Academy Award-winning actress Celeste Holm, a mental health activist; Bert Yancey, whose career as a PGA golfer was ended prematurely by mental illness; Percy Knauth, a noted author and war correspondent for Time and Life magazines; and Chris Costner Sizemore, whose multiple personalities inspired the character “Eve” in the best-selling novel and award-winning movie, “The Three Faces of Eve.”
During the 1960s, the Association launched its third education initiative with regular workshops on mental health issues for school administrators, supervisors, counselors, special education teachers, clergy, legal professionals and others. The organization also started coordinating educational seminars for health care professionals, and held informational forums for the general public.
The 1960s also saw the Association begin its first ambitious membership drives and fund-raising campaigns. With the social upheaval of the 1960s came a greater awareness of the rights of persons who have mental illness, and a more aggressive and outspoken brand of advocacy.
The Association found itself leading the fight in numerous public policy arenas where the rights of persons with mental illness were at stake. The decade also brought advances in treatments and progress in the way society viewed mental illness.
In 1962, the Association founded the Friendship “7” Social Club, a safe supportive environment for persons who have a mental illness to come together, socialize and enjoy activities. As an outgrowth of the Club, the Association established regular parties and activities for patients at Clarks Summit State Hospital. The Club continues to give persons who have a mental illness a forum for companionship, sharing and understanding.
The 1970s saw the Association waging a more aggressive campaign to advocate for persons who have a mental illness and increase public awareness of their rights.
In May 1976, the Association found itself in the public eye when it came to the defense of the Rev. Harold Craige, a Methodist minister whose privately operated homes for the poor and elderly in Scranton had come under attack by the city administration and council.
A year later, the Association criticized the mental health budget of Pennsylvania's Governor Milton Shapp, charging it would “write off” the future of hundreds of persons who have a mental illness in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
During the 1980s, the Association was involved in formulating public policy regarding group homes and was instrumental in establishing full-time external patients’ rights advocacy at Clarks Summit State Hospital (CSSH). An advocate was put in place at the Hospital as part of a statewide initiative following reports of patient abuse and neglect at CSSH.
In 1982, the Association started its first direct service, the Representative Payee Program. The program is system of financial and budgetary management for persons who have a mental illness, persons who have mental retardation, and older adults who are unable to manage their monthly Social Security benefits, other benefits and financial affairs.
In May 1990, the Association changed its name to the Mental Health Association in Northeastern Pennsylvania, reflecting its growing mission beyond Lackawanna County.
The 1990s saw the Association move into advocacy and service programs for persons who have mental retardation. A greater emphasis was placed on programs that empower persons who have a mental illness and persons who have mental retardation andd to advocate for changes in the service-delivery system.
In 2001, the Mental Health Association in Northeastern Pennsylvania became the Advocacy Alliance. Advocacy because it is the "core" of everything we do. Alliance represents the bringing together of three groups...consumers of mental health and mental retardation services, their families and professionals. The three lines in our logo represent these groups working together as one.