We are thrilled to announce that the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic & Assistance Foundation (NOMC & AF) has been honored with the National Association for Rural Mental Health (NARMH)‘s Peter G. Beeson Rural Arts Award for our 20+ years of service in the New Orleans community and our YOU GOT THIS (YGT) mental health outreach program, as a remarkable example of of breaking down barriers to access to quality care and mental health care.
On August 24th, the National Association for Rural Mental Health (NARMH) presented the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic & Assistance Foundation with the Peter G. Beeson Rural Arts Award in New Orleans.
NOMC&AF were given the award because of our 20 year history providing comprehensive health services to residents of City of New Orleans and surrounding areas. When vetting the award nominees, NARMH recognized the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic & Assistance Foundation’s unique influence on the very deep creative arts community that is in the City of New Orleans. The organization was impressed by the programs we offer the community and the ties our programs have to clinical mental/behavioral healthcare and mental health advocacy, awareness, and well-being. They felt NOMC’s model of accepting walk-ins, same day appointments, accepting patients no matter their insurance status or ability to pay, and that at every visit patients are given a mental health assessment, to be a remarkable example of breaking down barriers to access to quality care and mental health care.
Access to care and mental health care are very serious concerns for rural and remote populations. Moreover, NARMH acknowledged the mental health program called YOU GOT THIS (YGT) and its focus on outreach designed for expressive and performing arts to help calm suicidal thoughts, feelings, and plans by promoting optimal mental health self-care. It is clear that the work NOMC&AF demonstrates an extraordinary intersection of arts and mental health that NARMH upholds as the essence of the Peter G. Beeson Rural Arts Award.
The award was presented at the NARMH national conference at the Astor Crowne Plaza on Friday, August 24th.
For more info please contact: info@nomaf.org
Learn more about the National Association for Rural Mental Health at www.narmh.org
About the Peter G. Beeson Rural Arts Award:
The National Association for Rural Mental Health established the Rural Arts Award in 2007 to honor the lifelong contributions of Peter G. (Pete) Beeson to both rural mental health and the rural arts. Pete has been a long time member of NARMH, also a member of its board of directors as well as a Howery Award winner. Pete is recognized within the association for his masterful writing about rural life and his beautiful photography both of which have graced the pages of many NARMH publications. The board established the award and recognized Pete as the inaugural recipient at a plenary session during the 2007 NARMH Annual Conference in Kansas City. Nominees will have been recognized for their contributions to the arts that highlight aspects of rural life as a central focus of their work. Using five hundred words or less, describe the nominee, their preferred art form and the way in which it depicts rural life.
About NARMH:
The National Association for Rural Mental Health (NARMH) was founded in 1977 to develop and enhance mental health and substance abuse services and support mental health providers in rural, remote and frontier areas. We promote the needs and concerns unique to rural mental health, develop educational resources, and sponsor an annual conference where rural mental health professionals, consumers and other stakeholders can share knowledge and resources. NARMH has added two additional goals – to proactively support initiatives to strengthen the voices of rural consumers and their families and to develop and mentor the next generation of rural mental health leaders and researchers. NARMH, since its inception, has been strongly committed to rural people and rural providers. This commitment has allowed NARMH to focus on what it takes to provide quality services and meaningful research for rural consumers and providers. Visit the NARMH website at www.narmh.org to learn more about our organization. NARMH’s mission is to “Link Rural Voices to Rural Mental Health”.