Issues of mental health have gained increasing prominence in culture and politics in recent months. For National Health Month, former Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, along with Elyn Saks, the Orrin B. Evans Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the University of Southern California joined the Sacramento Press Club to address the progress being made to replace stigma with care and support. Steinberg is director of policy for the newly formed Steinberg Institute and Saks is an expert on mental health issues from the inside out: She lives with schizophrenia and acute psychosis. You’ll get a personal lesson in how people deal with mental health issues as well as what policies can help. “Is it OK if I trash your office?” Saks once asked her doctor, and it wasn’t a joke. This was an incredibly moving and informative luncheon.
Additionally, this was also the annual SPC scholarship luncheon. Seven scholarships totaling $34,000 were awarded!