Joe Pantoliano Provides Keynote Address
Federation of Organizations’ 28th Annual Community Mental Health Awards Luncheon was attended by more than 300 people who were treated to an appearance by Joe Pantoliano, who recently played Ralph Cifaretto on the hit HBO series, “The Sopranos.” Joe, the keynote speaker for the event, was diagnosed with clinical depression and subsequently created No Kidding, Me Too (www.nkm2.org), a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to educating people about mental illness and removing the stigma associated with it. His message, which resonated with everyone in attendance, was that mental illness, like physical illness, affects people from all walks of life, as well as their families and loved ones, and that people suffering with mental illness need to be treated with dignity and respect. After his presentation, Joe signed copies of the DVD of his movie Canvas, in which he plays the husband of a woman (portrayed by Marcia Gay Harden) who is diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy was a guest speaker at the luncheon. County Executive Levy, who has long been a supporter of Federation, spoke about the strides the agency has made in assisting those who are disabled by mental illness.
During the event, the Irene Berkowitz Memorial Award was presented to John Dawson, a substance abuse specialist in Federation’s PROS Program. John was selected to receive the award, which recognizes leadership and dedication to mental health advocacy, because of his long-term work in the areas of mental health relapse prevention and dual diagnosis. (For more information about John and his accomplishments, please see page 8.) Awards were also presented to Theresa Vasquez (Companion of the Year), Christine Chambers (Recovery Award), Emma Rivera (Recovery Award) and Albert Troiano (Recovery Award), and eight individuals were awarded Jason Brody Memorial Scholarships in memory of the man who served as an influential member of the mental health community for more than 25 years.
Federation is grateful not only to Mr. Pantoliano for helping to make the event such an overwhelming success, but also to Pfizer, the Luncheon Sponsor for the event, without whose support this inspiring afternoon would not have been possible. Additional sponsorship was provided by Bank of America, Eli Lilly, TLC Transportation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Holtz Rubenstein Reminick, Janssen, National Grid, State Bank of Long Island, and support was provided by Moritt Hock Hamroff & Horowitz and Mutual of America Life Insurance Company.
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