Look To The Stars News: Bring Change 2 Mind

Glenn Close Brings Change To Mental Illness Awareness

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:00:00 +0000

The Karla Smith Foundation and partner organization, Bring Change 2 Mind, held a fundraising gala Friday evening where they were joined by Tony, Golden-Globe and Emmy award winning actress Glenn Close to kick off an unprecedented mental health awareness and anti-stigma campaign to provide support for people who have a loved one suffering from mental illness.

“About one in six people suffer from a mental illness,” Close said, “It’s part of being a human…It’s not a cool subject for a lot of people, it makes people uncomfortable.”

In 2009, BringChange2Mind produced a public service announcement which featured Close and her sister, Jessie, who suffers from bipolar disorder.

Glenn Close Is Removing The Shame That Shadows Mental Illness

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:30:00 +0000

In an effort to bring mental illness into everyday dialogue, Glenn Close co-created the Bring Change 2 Mind campaign and, with the help of director Ron Howard, created a public service announcement pointing out how common such illnesses really are.

The first problem about awareness, even though one in six adults suffer from one form or another, is that mental illness is invisible. The other problem is the stigma attached to it.

“I think a lot of people will find that it’s kind of a relief to simply acknowledge that mental health issues are something every family deals with,” says Howard, “and yet it clearly does still remain stigmatized.”