Cumberland County Mental Health Center's

Consumer and Family Advisory Committee

Receives Program of Excellence Award

Fayetteville, NC,: The Cumberland County Mental Health Center has again received statewide recognition for the quality of services being provided. The North Carolina Council on Community Programs selected the Mental Health Center’s Consumer and Family Advisory Committee Public Awareness Campaign for the prestigious “Program of Excellence Award”. The North Carolina Council on Community Programs looks at programs from throughout the state in the naming of exemplary programs. The award was presented in a special awards ceremony in Pinehurst, North Carolina on December 2, 2004.  This is the seventh time the North Carolina Council has recognized Cumberland County Mental Health Center programs for excellence. It is the third time Cumberland County Mental Health has received the award for Public Awareness activities.

This  award specifically selected Cumberland’s Public Awareness Program for the groundbreaking work that has been done through the Mental Health Center’s Consumer and Family Advisory Committee. This committee, made up of consumers of mental health services, family members and other stakeholders has played a major role in the development of a community plan to implement Mental Health Reform in Cumberland County. Their enthusiastic efforts to involve and inform citizens of Cumberland County in matters related to Mental Health have resulted in earning them the title of “Missionaries of Mental Health”.  In the past year, they have collaborated with numerous other agencies and organizations to provide accurate and up-to-date information about Mental Health related issues and services, reaching thousands throughout Cumberland County. As a recipient of the North Carolina Council’s Excellence Award, their efforts will not only be recognized, but publicized through the publication, Programs of Excellence, as an example of ‘what works well’ in North Carolina.

 According to Hank Debnam, Area Director of the Cumberland County Mental Health Center, “This is an amazing group of individuals, and a shining example of the meaningful role that can be played by the people who depend on these services the most.