On Wednesday, Mental Health America of Southwest Pennsylvania presented its 2024 Innovation Awards, recognizing four individuals and two organizations.
“Each year, we conduct these events to raise community awareness of the great things happening to improve mental health in southwestern Pennsylvania,” said MHA Chief Executive Officer Laurie Barnett Levin, LSW. We are giving out awards.” “It also gives us the opportunity to make mental health part of the conversation. MHA’s tagline is that there can be no health without mental health.”
For the past 60 years, MHA has been involved in education, advocacy, and services dedicated to breaking down barriers and eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health and substance use disorders.
“We are honored to serve individuals in our community while educating thousands of people about managing their mental health,” she said.
They have been prominent players in a network of agencies covering various aspects of mental health needs. The Innovations Awards he has been recognizing other companies that have provided these services for over 20 years.
The dinner, held at Irwin’s Core Events Center, recognized some of the region’s most influential people in the field of behavioral health.
This year’s Community Advocacy Award was presented to Greensburg residents Jim and Gene Slusser.
“They volunteer for a lot of causes that impact people’s mental health,” Levine said. “They are passionate advocates for the LGBTQ+ community and have been involved in a variety of things, including the Ray of Hope Suicide Awareness and Prevention Task Force and the Diversity Coalition. They support people with serious mental illness. Not only did he dedicate his life’s work to this, but he continues to do so even after his retirement.”
Slusser was a psychiatric social worker at Torrance State Hospital and the sole caregiver for her younger sister, Dorothy, who was born with Down syndrome and many physical disabilities. She has served on the board and partnered with organizations focused on social justice, food insecurity, mental health and recovery, and a variety of other issues.
“She works hard to bring about positive change in the community,” Levine said.
Garik, a U.S. Army veteran, was also a social worker at Torrance State Hospital. His commitment to the LGBTQ+ community is deeply personal. His daughter is a member of that community, and his brother died in the AIDS epidemic. He and Slusser were instrumental in founding the PFLAG Greensburg and Westmoreland LGBTQ Interfaith Network.
“Their volunteer work is the highest level of giving,” Levine said. “They do it because they truly believe it’s the right thing to do. You see them together all the time, they volunteer together all the time. They’re a team. That’s why. We give them the award together.”
Wesley Family Services received the Curtis Upshur Jr. Recovery Award for its mental health program focused on the philosophy of “quality whole-person care services.”
“Their service is very unique and human-centered,” Levine said. “They have creative arts programs, mobile medication teams, assisted living, mobile psychiatric rehabilitation, and very community-based and recovery-oriented services.”
Wesley Family Services has a staff of 800 and serves more than 20,000 individuals annually in 15 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. The award is named after the late Curtis Upshur Jr., who served as a community worker for many years with various mental health organizations in the area.
John Herman of Greensburg received the Individual Advocacy Award.
“He has lived the experience of severe mental illness and has dedicated his life to improving the quality of life for others with mental illness,” Levine said. “He speaks openly about his illness.”
Among many other involvements, Mr. Herman serves on the board of the Crisis Intervention Team Steering Committee, serves as a volunteer with the Ray of Hope Suicide Awareness and Prevention Task Force, and is a member of the Ray of Hope Walk Committee. He serves as the head of the organization, assists with other events, and participates in numerous events. Board and Council. He has also received awards from other organizations.
“John turned his life around to make it meaningful,” Levine said. “He’s been amazing and has come a long way in his own recovery.”
The teaching award was presented to Bobby Tanyer, one of four adult behavioral health program specialists in the Westmoreland County Office of Behavioral Health Development Services. His role includes serving as the mental health representative and overseeing various county mental health and crisis programs, including crisis hotlines, mobile crisis, crisis response centers, and other front-line interventions. He is involved in expanding county collaboration across Western Pennsylvania to provide mental health education and support to law enforcement and other first responders.
Tanner is also the team leader for LOSS, which works with the coroner’s office to respond to suicide deaths in Westmoreland County.
“He’s very dedicated and goes above and beyond what’s asked of him,” Levine said.
The Workplace Award went to Venture Outdoors of Pittsburgh, whose mission is to remove barriers and enable people of all backgrounds and abilities to discover health and the benefits of outdoor experiences. We offer a variety of group trips, boat rentals, fishing events, and educational programs that give you the opportunity to enjoy the health and wellness benefits of the outdoors.
“What they’re doing is very unique,” Levine said. “There is a lot of literature and science-based evidence that spending time outdoors and in nature improves mental health. We have an app that employees can use that gives them a certain amount of time off for their mental health. They participate and engage in programs that promote the mental health of their staff.”
She also noted documentation that workplaces that promote employee mental health have less absenteeism.
For more information about MHA’s services and programs, visit mhaswpa.org.
