HR0397 LRB094 12216 HSS 45783 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The Mental Health Association of Macon County,
3 Inc., (MHA) will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Wednesday,
4 May 11, 2005; and
 
5     WHEREAS, A group first met in 1955 to discuss the
6 organization of a citizen's committee to promote the
7 establishment of a Mental Health Society in Decatur; and
 
8     WHEREAS, In 1960, the Mental Health Bond Issue for
9 $150,000,000 passed under the leadership of the MHA; the
10 following year the MHA led the drive to obtain funding for the
11 site of a mental health hospital, and the Adolph Meyer Zone
12 Center was opened in 1965; and
 
13     WHEREAS, The 1960s was a decade of firsts for the MHA;
14 during that decade, the organization initiated its first junior
15 volunteers, the first Bell Ringer Campaign, the first
16 Cotillion, the first Scholarship Program, and activated an
17 adult service program; MHA became a part of the United Way and
18 continued to be the only public citizens' group not affiliated
19 with the government that could mobilize citizens in educational
20 and advocacy efforts on behalf of mental health; and
 
21     WHEREAS, In the 1970s, the Drug Abuse Advisory Council was
22 organized under the direction of the MHA, and in the 1980s, MHA
23 began to address crisis management and suicide prevention; and
 
24     WHEREAS, Several programs were developed and implemented
25 during the 1990s; the "Little Bear" sexual abuse prevention
26 program was introduced in primary grade classrooms; teams began
27 actively responding to the deaths of children in Macon County
28 schools; MHA began participating in National Depression
29 Screening Day by providing free, anonymous, and confidential
30 screenings for citizens of Decatur and Macon County; and the

 

 

HR0397 - 2 - LRB094 12216 HSS 45783 r

1 organization began to address school violence issues and
2 organized a multidisciplinary task force to deal with threats
3 of violence within schools; and
 
4     WHEREAS, During the 21st century, the organization
5 continues to participate in or sponsor many other important
6 programs and is committed to promoting mental health,
7 preventing mental illness, and improving the care and treatment
8 of persons suffering with mental illnesses; therefore, be it
 
9     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
10 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
11 we congratulate the Mental Health Association of Macon County,
12 Inc., on the occasion of its 50th anniversary; and be it
13 further
 
14     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15 presented to the MHA as an expression of our respect and
16 esteem.