Do you know someone who transforms lives?

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation announces 2009 CAMH Transforming Lives Awards call for nominations

(TORONTO – January 13, 2009) – The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation is seeking nominations for its 2009 CAMH Transforming Lives Awards. The annual public awareness and fundraising campaign recognizes the achievements of seven extraordinary individuals across Ontario who have demonstrated courage and determination in the face of mental illness and/or addiction and now use their experiences to help transform the lives of others facing similar circumstances. All nominees will receive a certificate of recognition for their achievements.

A potential CAMH Transforming Lives Award recipient could live next door, or in your own home, or work alongside you: one in five Canadians will be affected by mental illness and addiction during their lifetime, but only one-third will receive treatment due to the stigma surrounding these conditions.

Dr. David Goldbloom, Senior Medical Advisor, Education and Public Affairs, CAMH, says, “Nominating someone for a CAMH Transforming Lives Award is a personal and public acknowledgment that someone you know who has experienced mental illness and/or addiction has both struggled and triumphed. It is a celebration of hope, of help, and ultimately of the human spirit. Don't perpetuate the silence; make a noise by nominating a deserving person you know.”

Nominations for the 2009 CAMH Transforming Lives Awards must be received no later than Wednesday, February 11, 2009.

The 2009 award recipients will be honoured at the CAMH Transforming Lives Awards Dinner, to be held in Toronto on Tuesday, May 12, 2009, hosted by the CAMH Foundation and presented by RBC Capital Markets.

In the past, both celebrities and non-celebrities have been honoured by the awards, and many people facing similar circumstances have been encouraged to seek treatment after hearing the compelling stories of the award recipients. A special award for community leadership is also presented at the ceremony.

To find out how to nominate someone, please call Bonnie Perry at 416-535-8501 ext. 4220 or, toll free, 1-800-414-0471 ext. 4220, or visit: www.supportcamh.ca.

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The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is a Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre and a teaching hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.

Past award recipients are available for interviews during the weeks leading up to the February 11^th deadline for nominations for the 2009 CAMH Transforming Lives Awards.

To arrange an interview with a past recipient or CAMH spokesperson, please contact Jean Geary, 416 535-8501, ext. 4395.